Current law prohibits interstate rest areas built after Jan. 1, 1960, from offering commercial services, which has resulted in the establishment of more than 60,000 businesses and two million jobs along U.S. interstate highways. The coalition letter urges committee members to maintain the prohibition of commercial activity on the interstate right-of-way.
Recently, some state governments have supported the idea of commercializing rest areas and subsequently, contracting fueling and other services to private vendors to raise government revenue. While advocates for commercialization claim that such services will benefit the public, the reality is that rest area commercialization would close as many as half of the nearby interchange-based businesses.
PMAA said that it is concerned that interstate-based gasoline retailers will be unable to compete with commercialized rest areas, which are conveniently located on the highway right-of-way, and would create a de facto monopoly in favor of businesses operated out of rest areas. Interstate rest area commercialization would destroy the property tax base of local governments and put many retailers out of business. Such commercialization would result in an unfair competitive environment for privately operated retailers, and would destroy a successful economic business model that has proven beneficial for both consumers and retailers.
House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee Chairman James Oberstar (D-Minn.) plans to release the committee's version of the highway reauthorization bill today. PMAA said that it will continue to coordinate with NATSO and the coalition to fight interstate rest area commercialization.
Click here to view the letter.
Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.