Just say 'no' to privatization
Source: By Mark Capron, PUBLIC WORKS MAGAZINE, August 1, 2007
Keep roads in public hands by making it easier for transportation planners to deploy intelligent electronics technology.
Your editorial about transportation departments granting long-term toll road operating concessions to foreign firms like Australia's Macquarie Infrastructure Group (April 2007, "Leased to the highest bidder!") asks a good question: "If operating public infrastructure makes good business sense, why are we getting out of the business?"
We don't have to. The public sector can improve full-spectrum service--not just transit time, but safety, costs, air quality, aesthetics, noise, and the environment--by implementing "intelligent" vehicle technology that's available today.