Car infrastructure is expensive

(PDF) The Social Cost of Automobility, Cycling and Walking in the European Union

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/330184791_The_Social_Cost_of_Automobility_Cycling_and_Walking_in_the_European_Union

Society loses 79 cents per kilometer driven. Society gains 72 cents per kilometer cycled. This is because cycling reduces healthcare costs and sick leave.

In the abstract, it said

Extrapolated to the total number of passenger kilometers driven, cycled or walked in the European Union, the cost of automobility is about €500 billion per year. Due to positive health effects, cycling is an external benefit worth €24 billion/year and walking €66 billion/year

Bike vs. Bus vs. Car in Portland! How biking is faster, cheaper, healthier and better for the planet - YouTube - CityNerd

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7UcvadTgac

Here is a simplified cost break down comparing between driving, taking a bus and cycling. Cars are just worse on every metric.

Highway Spending is Eating the Budget

https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2017/1/18/highway-spending-is-eating-the-budget

The cost of highways are paid by all taxpayers, not just the one’s that use them. Politicians have been avoiding to raise the gas taxes so the cost are shifted to the general taxpayers instead.

There are some other important points made in this article too, but the one I like the most is:

Swimming in Debt. We have to pay interest and maintenance for all that highways that we built. And the more we build them, the more interest that we have to pay.

How America got addicted to road salt — and why it’s become a problem - Vox

https://www.vox.com/2015/1/13/7531833/road-salt-environment-alternatives

https://www.reddit.com/r/fuckcars/comments/rqlel8/road_salt_an_undermentioned_shit_aspect_of_car/

Salting the road in winter is very expensive. It pollutes the environment. It damages your car.

Suburbia is Subsidized: Here’s the Math [ST07] - YouTube - Not Just Bikes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Nw6qyyrTeI

Suburbs are expensive and costly to maintain. This is due to car-centric infrastructure.

Gas Tax Isn’t Cutting It, So Lawmakers Say Utah Needs To Change How It Pays For Roads And Highways | KUER

https://www.kuer.org/politics-government/2021-08-11/gas-tax-isnt-cutting-it-so-lawmakers-say-utah-needs-to-change-how-it-pays-for-roads-and-highways

The gas tax is not enough to fund Utah’s road infrastructure.

Road traffic injuries

https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/road-traffic-injuries

Road traffic crashes cost most countries 3% of their gross domestic product.

Cost Analysis of Bicycle Facilities: Cases from cities in the Portland, OR region

Bike infrastructure is much cheaper to build than road infrastructure.

the City of Portland calculated that the city’s entire bicycle network, consisting of over 300 miles of bikeways would cost $60 million to replace, whereas the same investment would yield just one mile of a four-lane urban freeway

This study is about how much each proponent of bike infrastructure costs.

Study: Most Roads Don’t Pay for Themselves – Streetsblog USA

https://usa.streetsblog.org/2015/05/04/study-most-roads-dont-pay-for-themselves/

A financial analysis by the think tank found that about four out of 10 U.S. highways don’t carry enough traffic to generate sufficient revenue to pay for their maintenance — let alone construction.