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[quote]QUOTE: Originally posted by Murphy Siding FM: Why would the infrastructure companies have to be regulated? If the aim is to let the market set the price as it relates to the TOC's,shouldn't the infrastructure companies be allowed to set their rates(and profits) as low,or as high as the market dictates? If it's done otherwise, it's just another form of market manipulation in my opinion. And that idea about distributing the wealth(!) from one guy's pocket to another-that's not right. [/quote] The whole idea behind open access is to lower prices for shippers to a competitive level, so it would be useless to give access to multiple carriers only to have the infrastructure owner jack it up on the carriers, who in turn would have to pass the increase on to their customers. A second factor is if infrastructure companies get certain tax privileges or other forms of public support, why allow that if they turn around and act like a monopoly? Thirdly, the competing/complementary modes of highways and waterways are publicly owned, so it makes sense to "equalize" the playing field to prevent market skewing. Do you really think BNSF the infrastructure company wouldn't engage in shenanegans with UP the transporter company if it was left up to their will? There needs to be transparency in ROW accounting so that rates charged reflect the return of capital plus profit for all carriers, you can't open the door to favoritism.
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