mass transit

Jordan Hayes jmhayes at j-o-r-d-a-n.com
Mon Jun 10 09:23:53 PDT 2002



> 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.

They should be so lucky! When a section of the Bay Bridge collapsed in the 1989 earthquake, BART ridership doubled. And guess what? It was crowded but it worked. If that level of ridership was sustained, BART would be called a success!


> OTOH, I'm not sure if that would actually happen.

Oh.


> 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.

In places that don't charge for their transit, this is not the case. And even if it does become the case, you can take some of the money you used to spend on collection and use it for outreach to help people find better shelter.

/jordan



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