Why is the American high-speed free, but the Chinese high-speed is charging? After reading it, you will understand that you have worked hard
> > Although there is no such thing as a free lunch in the world, many Chinese people are extremely envious when they see that the highways in the United States extend in all directions without charging. Why is the American high-speed free, but the Chinese high-speed is charging? Are you using high speed to make money? >
The development of expressways affects the evolution of the spatial structure of China's urban agglomerations, promotes industrial development and drives the prosperity of the tertiary industry, and is also a symbol of a country's modernization and a manifestation of its comprehensive national strength. According to data, by the end of 2020, the total mileage of China's expressways has reached 161,000 kilometers, surpassing the second-ranked United States by 30,000 kilometers. This is exciting news, but when you think that 70% of the world's toll roads are in China, while the toll roads in the United States account for less than 10%, the hearts of Chinese people are inevitably a little unbalanced.
As we all know, except for certain holidays, Chinese highways are basically charged according to the model and the number of kilometers. There are many examples of long-distance long-distance buses being charged thousands of yuan at one time. Therefore, if the driver chooses to take the high-speed, it will greatly increase the travel cost. If you don't take the highway, you have to waste more time on the road. I have to say that although the living standards of the people have improved significantly, every time the car owners walk to the high-speed toll gate, they can't help but complain: it would be great if there were no charges. So the same highway, why is the United States free, but China charges? Let's look down.
Have you heard the saying that free is often the most expensive. In fact, the no-toll policy for US expressways that everyone envies is actually an act of robbing the poor and helping the rich, because no matter whether it is charged or not, there is a cost for it. The key is to see who pays the cost. As we all know, highways require construction and maintenance fees. In case of special road sections, the construction cost of one kilometer may be as high as hundreds of millions of yuan. The United States used existing finance and fuel taxes to pay for road construction costs, which is called public payment.
That is to say, the payers are all taxpayers. Whether you have a car or not, whether you have been on the highway or not, you need to contribute to the construction of the highway, so in essence, there is a situation where the poor subsidize the rich. Fortunately, American cars The penetration rate is relatively high, so the degree of inequity is not too serious. However, the construction of expressways in China started relatively late. In order to further facilitate the travel of citizens and improve the transportation structure, China has long adopted the mode of road construction with loans, loan repayment with fees or capital market financing.
To put it simply, the state takes the first loan to repair the expressway, and the user can repay the loan for the state at the toll booth. This payment method is called the user pays, and it is similar to our loan to buy a house. Seeing this, you should understand that the motherland has good intentions, so after so many years of high-speed fees, has the cost been recovered? If the cost is recovered, can it be completely free? Let's look down.
You may not believe it when you say it. The United States uses the public payment method on the highway to let the rich enjoy it, while the poor are boiled frogs in warm water. The user pays method in China is simple, reasonable and transparent, which is exactly what economists say. That sentence, when you feel that you have taken advantage of it, you may be suffering a big loss. So will China Expressway be free after the loan is repaid? It is understood that the construction cost of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen Expressway in that year was 11.4 billion yuan, and as of 2012, 41 billion yuan has been recovered, even if the post-maintenance costs are added, it is profitable.
However, in general, there are very few road sections that can recover costs at present, and the highway toll policy should not be fully abolished in the near future. However, although it will not be cancelled, it can be reduced or exempted appropriately. For example, many areas will give green lights for private cars with 7 seats or less on the ring-city expressway. For car owners who need to take the ring-city expressway to and from get off work, it can save at least monthly savings. Two or three hundred. In addition to the free passage of private cars on certain holidays, large trucks transporting fresh food can also take the green channel.
All in all, public payment in the United States is synonymous with unreasonableness in the face of China's user-pays. I believe that with the continuous improvement of China's economic level, highways will be truly free. At the current stage, car users enjoy both The convenience brought by the expressway, just pay for the expressway calmly. Do you think public payment or user pays, which is better? Welcome to leave a message and share in the comment area, see you in the next issue.