It can also be argued that it opens up the opportunity of the low-income bracket of a nation's population (in regard to the developed world) to make use of road transport and has a greater benefit to those that use road transport to a greater extent than those who do not. A lower than actual running cost of road transport inevitably increases car sales benefiting the motor industry and the transportation of produced goods within the manufacturing industry. This would therefore increase the demand for road transport, road space and road maintenance, in the short term, as the marginal benefit of making a journey would become greater than the marginal cost of the journey.
Subsidising the creation and maintenance of a good road network is again is very beneficial to business and the general public in the short term, reducing the time spent travelling and encouraging industrial development. For example, a location that is easily accessible by road will attract industry and hence increase the value of the land; similarly existing property will increase in value with improved road accessibility. Undercharging for the use of road transport increases the individual benefit obtained by commuting from more isolated locations suggesting that undercharging makes urban services, jobs and lifestyle available to those living in rural areas. This has the added effect of increasing rural property value, but also allows companies to locate outside the central business direct, potentially increasing profits without the risk of reducing consumer purchase revenues. This can then induce a multiplier effect where other competitive companies are also attracted into the area, which can be seen with the creation of out of town business parks. This would also imply an increase in the demand for road transport, as privately owned cars would be the preferred method of transport to access these rural or isolated locations if the costs were subsidised, the services would be available to a greater proportion of the population if transport cost are kept artificially low.
