Why is the 407 so expensive? | My response

Always put your comments on your own space.

Here’s mine in response to this article Ask Us: Why is the 407 so expensive? | DurhamRegion.com published today.


So much disinfo.
The 407‘s OPERATION was auctioned off. Any corporation could have bid on it, and only one won it – as with all auctions. It went to the highest bidder. Since no one was sure about how things would turn out (and whether or not the government or next government would break the contract – as it can – since it passes the laws), the price settled was the fair, market price. Today the lease is worth more, since we now have 22 years of history, important for any investment valuation.
You and the Queen own the highway. We lease its operation.
Why? Because if the money was placed into general revenue, as are most tolls and taxes, it would be (mis)allocated to any political priority of the day.
Do you want a new MRI machine or a new lane? Clearly, the MRI machine would win.
The 407 lease holder cannot buy a new MRI machine, only install a new lane.
Secondly, part of the contract was to keep the highway moving – at a reasonable and justifiable cost – and use cost as the primary tool to keep it from gridlocking or even slowing down considerably. Did you know the busiest sections – and they are many “zones”, are tolled differently as some are in areas that can become super congested?
Rush hour proves the cost is accepted by a large number of people. They are willing to pay to keep moving.
If the government OPERATED it (remember , we own it), they may cave to the whiners who don’t want to pay the market price to avoid sitting in gridlock and reduce the tolls. Say they did it by 50%. What do you think would happen to the traffic? All for a few votes would your headache commute start again.
Did you know that if you sit in traffic on the 407 for an unreasonable amount of time you can ask for a credit on the toll?
In closing, ALL freeways, and possibly secondary roads, will be tolled, at minimal friction (thanks to technology) in the future. The real cost of maintenance is subsidized by other taxes and NOT paid by road users. We accept this as fair and convenient, which is fine. It’s also why the 401 is falling apart, full of unfilled potholes, and rarely expanded at a reasonable pace to keep up with volume. By contrast, the 407 has been widened, RECONSTRUCTED with concrete, and had more sections LED lit over its lifetime than any part of the corresponding 401. This is the future, unless you want $2/L gas, with more than half of that tax. No? Didn’t think so.
Oh, and one more thing. If you pay into the CPP (your pension), be happy that your money owns (I believe) a controlling share in the leasehold corporation. If you’re an Ontario government retiree, your pension plan owns 10%. So your guaranteed pension just became that much more safe.
My only gripe is the lease was 99 years. It should have been 10 years, renewable. Imagine the extra revenue for your province!

As of April 2019, ownership of the 407 ETR Concession Company Limited (“407 ETR”), the operator/manager of the highway, is as follows:

SNC sold its shares to CPPIB – wiki is out of date.

Premier fraud 

Liberals busy building things and stopping midstream, yet everyone still gets paid. 

Hi Premier Wynne,
I’m worried.
I asked you to keep me informed about the $1.9 billion you are extracting out of the Ontario economy in new carbon taxes. I was excited when you promised lots of new jobs and reductions in carbon emissions. Then I saw the July jobs report. Wow, 36,100 Ontario jobs lost in a single month, the worst decline since the recession, and you still haven’t told me any good news about carbon emission reductions. I guess your new plan is not

m.huffpost.com/ca/entry/11759978

Uber solves problems

Once more, how many plates do city councillours and ex-mayors own? How many are owned by big law firms? How many are owned by those influencing the laws? Why is there a black market for taxi plates? Why are the number of plates regulated? Why is the city trying to control supply and demand? What do they know about economics? Is this the city’s role? All questions that are wiped out and solved by Uber, solving an impossible quagmire that taxi medallion owners and their governing benefactors conspired to crea

Rule of 72 for Toronto water bills

Based on an annual increase of 6%, my water bill will double every 12 years. This is the sick reality of living in Toronto and environs.

In finance, the rule of 72, the rule of 70 and the rule of 69.3 are methods for estimating an investment’s doubling time. The rule number (e.g., 72) is divided by the interest percentage per period to obtain the approximate number of periods (usually years) required for doubling. Although scientific calculators and spreadsheet programs have functions to find the accurate doubling time, the rules are useful for mental calculations and when only a basic calculator is available.[1]

Source: Rule of 72 – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

You cannot decline your ballot says Elections Canada

Don’t bother trying to decline your ballot officially in the federal election. You can spoil it but that’s a marginalized category that doesn’t seem to impact the poll collectors.

The idea seems to have caught on a bit last Ontario election.

More than 31,000 Ontarians declined their ballot in the June 12 election, the highest number to do so since 1975 and a dramatic increase over levels in the last election.