Car drivers in our country are fortunate because they do not pay for the full cost of driving, which refers to the total cost of everything that makes driving possible including the cost of road construction and repair, traffic management and car pollution. In fact, taxpayers subsidize most of the driving cost for the sake of these drivers.
Because these drivers do not bear the driving cost, driving a car is cheap. According to the law of supply and demand, if the price of a commodity falls below its so-called equilibrium price, it results in a shortage of the commodity. The low cost of driving causes a shortage of road space, and this leads to traffic congestion.
Therefore, to make car drivers bear the full cost of driving and to solve the shortage of road space, these drivers should be required to pay the so-called user charge.
Collections from the user charge will fund road construction and repair, traffic management and pollution mitigation, relieving society from subsidizing these drivers. Also, if automobile use becomes more expensive, then, as the law of supply and demand predicts, there will be less demand for road space, less driving, more road space, and therefore less traffic jams.
We have been generous and accommodating to auto drivers. Now, let’s make them pay and let’s enjoy lighter traffic.
JORI GERVACIO R. BENZON, Pandacan, Manila, joribenzon@gmail.com