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I have a question and a point regarding some of the comments made in this thread or subject. At least one person claims there are numerous studies showing that truckers do not pay their share of the cost of building and maintaining the nation's highways.  The American Trucking Association claims otherwise.  I would appreciate it if someone could point me to the "studies" showing that trucks don't pay their share of the cost of building and maintaining the highways.  I am keen to see not only the results but also the methodology.  Moreover, I will only accept studies that have been performed by an independent, objective source.  Studies performed by trucking interests or rail interests would tend to be biased. In Texas the highways are damaged or worn by a multiplicity of variables.  For example, in North Texas, where the soil is subject to significant expansion and contraction due to changing weather conditions, it would be difficult to determine how much of the damage done to the highways was caused by trucks and how much was caused by the underlying soil conditions.  It is so bad, for example, that concrete contractors in the Dallas area will not guarantee their work.    The point refers to cost accounting.  In the long run all costs are variable.  In the short run, however, accountants accept the notion of variable costs and fixed costs.  It is true that the fixed costs per unit of activity (passengers, seats, train miles, etc.) will go down as the number of units increase.  However, the true variable costs will tend to go up.  In a sense the point is irrelevant.  A business has to recover all of its costs over time, plus it has to earn a return for the shareholders.  The government must do likewise, although it has an inexhaustible kit of tools (monetary and fiscal) to shift the costs from the users to non-users. The cost per passenger mile is the only methodology for comparing the cost of one passenger transport activity (airplane passenger miles) against another activity (passenger rail miles).  Total dollar comparisons are meaningless.  Costs, however, are not the only comparative variable.  Most people don't just consider the cost.  Functionality, convenience and comfort are also important to most people.   People around the world, if they can afford to do so, have chosen the car for commuting, family vacations, and travel between relatively close cities.  They can depart on their schedule.  They can stop for coffee when they want to do so.  They have a vehicle when they get to their destination.  They can set the temperature in the vehicle to suit their needs.  They can listen to music of their choice.  They don't have to sit next to someone who has not had a bath in a week or who insists on shouting into a cell phone.  It is hard to put a price tag on these variables.  But millions of people apparently consider them to be important, and they are willing to pay for them.
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