Will wrote:
The value of money is different depending on your income. For example, a $4 toll is 'worth' more for a pensioner living on a pension as compared to someone earning $200K a year, for whom the value of $4 is nothing.
And also I don't particularly think the solution for low-income people is to tell them to use public transport. By relying solely on public transport (even a better sysytem) your opportunities are limited. For example, I study at Flinders University. I drive to uni, because from where I live, there is no direct bus going to the university. As a result I would first have to catch a bus to the city, and then another to the university. This would make it a 1.5 hour journey, as comapred to the 20 minutes it takes to drive. Even if the public transport system was improved, I doubt a bus from where I live to Flinders would be feasible. This is the basis of my arguement. There are occassions when people need to drive, and the most disadvantaged people in society should not have their opportunities limited by private roads.
WIll, you make a fair point moreover, im well aware of the value of money especially since i deal with a lot of people that can't afford medical bills etc. Im just arguing the other side of the equation and applying reality to the situation. In reality this wont work. A toll road is a user pays system, if you want to use it you have to pay for it. The builders of the tollway, don't care if you are a student, pensioner or war vet, they are providing a service for you, by building a road that speeds up your travel time between 2 points, they don't force you to use it.
As far as they are concerned, if you cant afford to use it then drive on the public roads!
There is no toll road in Australia (as far as iam aware) that has a category payment system.