Megan McArdle is right here: the massive subsidy that is free roads undermines efforts to endorse other forms of transit. But it's more than free roads -- it's also the subsidies for the oil industry (which the House energy bill aims to cut), the still comparatively low price on gasoline for consumers, and the tax breaks that help drivers pay for parking, and the fact that there isn't (yet) a price on carbon. So rather than dreaming up marketing schemes to convince people to get out of their cars, it would make much more sense to stop subsidizing personal car use and instead support those who do make other transit choices. Oh, and while we're at it, we can end DOT Secretary Mary Peters' war on bikes.
--Kate Sheppard
