IIRC because more of the highway cost is subsidized by the taxpayer, not necessarily because the cost is actually lower...<p>In the US, especially outside of the northeast, most interstate highways are not tolled, so users of the road don&#x27;t pay any more for its maintenance than non-users do. But someone is still paying for it. Taxpayers who don&#x27;t use the roads are effectively subsidizing those who do.<p>By contrast, railways usually own their rails and are obliged to maintain them themselves, and thus have to fold those costs into the price.<p>This is really unfair.