This is a common carbrain argument
“I already pay the gas tax”
The problem is that it’s false.
In a recent study, researchers Stefan Gössling, Jessica Kees, and Todd Litman calculated the social costs of driving. They found that the social cost is about 30-40% higher than what car owners are actually paying
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921800921003943?via=ihub
That cost is paid by non-drivers.
Because the rail companies have taken a short -term approach of eliminating competition and min-maxing current profits instead of investing in infrastructure, the rail isn’t really competing with road freight
Rail freight displaces what is can carry, and the rest is done by road. The mile long train cars are moving a lot of goods, but if you parked by the side of the highway and counted semi trucks you’d see tons of them
Technically, the highway system was designed for military response and to stimulate the economy… But if you look at what it’s used for? It’s totally fair to say it’s to transport goods