mass transit

Marco Anglesio mpa at the-wire.com
Mon Jun 10 08:23:27 PDT 2002


On Sun, 9 Jun 2002, joanna bujes wrote:


> At 01:18 AM 06/09/2002 -0400, you wrote:
> >I'm against all this tax-masquearading-as-user-fee biz.
> >
> >I don't drive much, but I do buy fresh produce that was trucked in. I
> >should pay for highways and bridges. Similarly, I don't live near a
> >bus stop, but I should be happy to pay for people who do live near them
> >to use them. Usually the cost to collect, count, bank, & secure fares
> >isn't worth it, especially when you factor in the time it adds to the
> >trip.
>
> Right on!

I daresay that fare-charging (except, perhaps, in extremely low subsidy locales such as Toronto and NYC, where the far covers a large part of operating costs) is essentially a hedge against flooding the system beyond capacity, especially during rush hours.

OTOH, I'm not sure if that would actually happen. Cynically, and I have no proof that this would happen, it might be a hedge against homeless people using public transit as a shelter or social service. Only fare-payers and wage-earners inside the gate, you understand.

m.

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> Marco Anglesio | Alcohol, hashish, prussic acid, <
> mpa at the-wire.com | strychnine are weak dilutions. <
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> | --Ralph Waldo Emerson <
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