Today’s Pickup: Libertarian group pushes toll-financed infrastructure plan

Good day,

A Reason Foundation study released this week argues for both a private sector plan to rebuild the nation’s crumbling highways and the need to transition from per-gallon fuel taxes to per-mile highway user charges. The libertarian group lists several states with existing toll-financed programs and offers suggestions as to how to sell these strategies to policy-makers, motorists and truckers. The key message – the electronically collected per-mile toll is a mileage-based user fee that already enjoys wide public acceptance. The study advises that in the 2020 surface transportation reauthorization bill, Congress should create a voluntary program in which states agree to configure tolls as per-mile charges. States would also have to commit to using the revenues solely to operate and maintain the nation’s highways.

Did you know?

There are eight Chinese autonomous vehicle companies currently testing in Beijing and seven of those are also testing in California and have headquarters based in Silicon Valley.

– Mashable, referring to a first-ever city report on AV testing in Beijing

Quotable

“America’s bridge network is outdated, underfunded and in urgent need of modernization. State and local governments just haven’t been given the necessary resources to get the job done.”

Alison Premo Black, chief economist for the.American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ATRBA), quoted in FreightWaves

In other news

Boeing in the hot seat

The airplane manufacturer may have bad days ahead with the 737 MAX investigation. (SeattleTimes)

Singapore’s biggest online mall fights Alibaba with blockchain

Ku Young Bae says the distributed ledger technology will help his company, Qoo10, expand in Southeast Asia. (Bloomberg)

Newcomers to the 2019 Midas List: Who cracked the ranks of best VCs in the world

China played an even bigger role in getting new names on the Midas List. (Forbes)

Nigerian logistics start-up wins “Disrupter of the year” award

The year-old start-up connects truck owners with producers and distributors with long-haul trips. (Venturesafrica)

Tel Aviv venture firm New Era Capital raises a $60 million fund

The firm focuses on start-ups touting positive environmental and social impact. (Calcalistech)

Final thoughts

Bus-hailing startups are so clearly the wave of the future. Roadways are clogged, air pollution is at a breaking point and ride-hailing companies are already diversifying into other modes like bike and scooter sharing. The sector got off to a rocky start in the U.S., with Ford selling San Francisco bus start-up Chariot last year. But the market is already surging in the Middle East and India, with Uber among the players increasing on-demand shuttle service in Egypt. And as U.S. cities become more densely populated, and tools like congestion pricing take off, it’s only a matter of time before the app-based bus startups go on a growth tear. Public transit agencies – you’ve been warned.

Hammer down, everyone!