Should hybrid cars be given toll free or preferential treatment on bridges, tunnels and highways?

Question

The pro argument is "yes, hybrids are, by definition, good for the environment, and hence their owners deserve all the perks they can get.

The con argument: Giving these perks is in fact incentivising car use by single drivers, and adding to congestion in urban areas. The social gains of "saving energy resources" may be more than forfeited by the social costs of the increased traffic. A better social policy is to encourage transit and carpooling.

Your reactions?

Answer 1

no- the assumption that hybrids are good for the enviroment is wrong to begin with

hybrid cars are not better for the enviroment when you consider total enviromental impact...the chemicals used in manufacturing of the batteries and the pollution caused by their need for battery disposal and replacment are far worse in the long run

but if your professor insists that his premise is correct( no our academics are not biased are they??)

No as a social policy - it is bestowing a privalege on an individual that in turn harms not only other individuals by increasing their costs for gas time and wear and tear due to congestion etc but harms society at large by causing others to waste resources that are common to us all and limited in quantity. It also increases the costs of the toll on the rest of us( less payees to divide the cost of the road with) for a somewhat dubious moral reason of "we don't like you driving a non hybrid".
It is far better to provide an incentive that benefits all by reducing costs and resource usage and conjestion all at the same time..For example instead of subsidizing Hybrid owners through free tolls- collect the toll from all drivers and invest in improving tech so it will be workable and available in every car... Free tolls alone are not enough incentive to get someone to buy a hybrid Also incentivizing such behavior is the equivalent of taking money out of current smokers pockets and paying people who currently do not smoke not to smoke because are not adding any smoke to the air.. you are paying someone for doing something that already is a benefit to them( better gas milage and peer acknoledgement about being "green").

Why should 1 person get a "free ride" from the 100 of us when what that one person actually does very very little to help the other 100 of us.

come to think of us why should anyone (esp those who can a fford a hybrid) ever get a free ride? lol

Answer 2

Yes...I do think that it is important to encourage transit and carpooling, but at the same time I do believe that hybrid cars should be exempt from paying tolls. Besides helping pay for street repair, as tolls are used in some states, tolls are also used to decrease congestion (shifts the supply curve up by the amount of the toll, thus decreasing the equilibrium of quantity demanded downward). One of the main reasons that congestion needs to be lower (besides making people happier) is that at lower speeds, cars produce much more particulate matter, because in cars a lot of particulate matter is created by the burning of fossil fuel in internal combustion engines. The hybrids minimize these emissions, therefore alleviating one of the main purposes for the toll.

I don't believe that the owners just deserve "perks" because they are buying products good for the environment...I believe they should be exempt from a tax thats purpose they are already mitigating.

I also don't believe that giving these perks is incentivising car use by single drivers because the amount of money they save on tolls will not nearly cover the difference of the increased cost of buying the hybrid.

Answer 3

ok first off-- no, they shouldn't get toll free or preferential treatment on bridges, tunnels and highways.
Second: while their reduced emissions seem like a boon to the environment, what people are forgetting is that the LION batteries used in these cars are dangerously full of pollutants (i can't spell) and that the industries that make the parts for these cars also pollute. What really needs to be done is a total carbon analysis on the cost/benefit to the environment over the production of these cars, when diesels get BETTER milage than the hybrids get in real life, cost less and can be made cleaner.

Answer 4

If you can afford to purchase a hybrid, you can afford to pay the tolls, just like everybody else (including people who can only afford an older model used car that isn't a hybrid). The tolls are, at least in theory, supposed to go toward road upkeep. That means weight based tolls make more sense than hybrid vs. non-hybrid distinctions.

Answer 5

Why should they get special treatment? Because they drive a hybrid? If that's the case I should get perks for driving my Mustang because it's much cooler and faster than those cars. lol. Give me a break this was not worth the five points to ask a question.

Answer 6

I'd say preferential treatment for carpooling and public transit. Maybe a tax writeoff for transit passes, even if they aren't that expensive. And make transit passes tax-free. And just because it has the hybrid label doesn't mean significant savings...look at the Lexus RX400h vs. the RX350 for example.

Answer 7

No. They cut you no slack. You are using the highways and bridges like every else. You already got a tax break when you bought the car. That's double dipping my friend. Did you ever figure out how long you'd have to drive that car just to cover the expence of buying it? At 45 mpg. it figures out to be 5 years or a shade over 55,000 miles. And at that point your looking at battery replacement.

Answer 8

Nope it just means you are a Environmental freak and a tree hugger.
I will be crossing the bridge in my Ford Ranger lifted swamper tires and hauling *** and guzzling gas

I get 10 miles per gallon

Answer 9

no... the tolls are for the use and maintainence of the roads and bridges and tuneles. just because you can get good cas mileage. doesnt mean that you shouldent pay for the use of the roads.....the perk that you get is that you go to the pump less often...

Answer 10

not really, many times I have given best answer to a complete unknown. Now, if I am in a quandry as to which to pick, then I go for the one with the best promises of a good time ;)