But who will build the roads?
The recent closure of the Forth Road Bridge (FRB) proves a useful catalyst for discussing the role of government in the provision of certain services. “Without government, who will build the roads?” is a commonly asked question by those who are sceptical of the power of the market to provide for them. It is perhaps understandable that this view is taken given the use that we all make of roads every day. After all, perhaps people envisage a system of tolls at the end of every street and barriers at every junction.
Indeed, placing a toll booth at the end of every street would seem to be an impractical arrangement. However, the very fact that it is impractical would drive (pardon the pun) the road owners to better serve his customers and to minimise his own costs. Therefore alternatives would be sought: some of which are available right now; some which will have to be developed (it is not my intention in this post to posit a solution to every problem, merely to suggest that some may exist).
In considering the issue of roads I present a similar situation in which private solutions are the norm and government intervention would seem ridiculous. This is the issue of common stairwells in blocks of flats.
Many such closes exist in Edinburgh. Where the block of flats is privately owned, the stairwell too is private. No-one wonders “without government, who will build the stairs?”; rather the stairs are owned in common and managed by a residents committee. Free riding is not allowed as costs can be recovered in civil suits against any resident who does not pay. The resident’s committee will typically appoint factors to clean or conduct maintenance as required.
There is no reason a private cul-de-sac could not operate in the same way. The only difference is that instead of stairs between dwellings, there is a road. So why is it that government is expected to take care of this?
Perhaps government involvement would not be as exasperating if they at least did a good job. However the debacle with the FRB highlights that they do not. It has been operating over capacity for years. Yet no new crossing was built. Tolls on the bridge were scrapped as a populist measure when an increase, in line with rising demand, would have been the obvious action. Finally, the need for repairs was known as far back as May but no action was taken. And why should action have been taken? The government gets its money from taxing people, not providing them services.
Such problems are a common feature of government involvement in building and maintaining roads. It is not limited to the FRB. It was reported that 45% of roads in the Scottish Borders are in a poor state. In 2012, Scottish councils paid out £1.7m in compensation for damage to vehicles caused by potholes. A 2013 survey found 45% of Scottish drivers rated roads in their local area as poor. Any business would struggle to last with such poor performance.
As always, we can take some comfort from the ingenuity of the individual, who so often succeeds where government fails: It has been reported that one Russian woman, sick of the state of her local roads and frustrated by government inaction, has taken to repairing potholes herself, earning the nickname of “road fairy”. Perhaps then, the answer to “who will build the roads?” should be “the road fairy.”
1. http://m.peeblesshirenews.com/news/13653702.Region_tops_deterioration_rate_for_roads/
2. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-16389690
3. http://www.scotsman.com/news/transport/scotland-s-roads-in-worst-condition-of-any-in-uk-1-2835381
Liam Harkness
Liam lives in Edinburgh and is Treasurer of The Scottish Libertarian Party
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