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Pellerin: Public transit is a public service. Treat it that way
(ottawacitizen.com)
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this post was submitted on 23 Sep 2023
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Public transit should never be treated as an investment that should produce a return. It's an service provided for people to use. It should be cheap or free. I'll never understand why people get confused about this stuff, it's like the dip shits here in the US that'll complain that the USPS doesn't make money. It's not supposed to
The return it produces is not immediate cash flow, but the return is vast and on many fronts.
Certainly; however, most people don't seem to think that far. All they can do is add and subtract.
All it requires to be able to understand is the ability to add and subtract. Apparently many don't even have that capability.
And if they can't do that, their voting pattern is clear.
We learned this on the west coast when all those user fees dropped and they couldn't afford to maintain minimum service levels, even when dipping into the completely unused maintenance fund ... oh, wait: that went out as bonuses.
It absolutely needs to produce a return. There are real lives involved in building and operating transit. Without returns, that is a life wasted that could have been used to do something useful for society.
Quite possibly. The returns need not come from fares. The fare is for rider management โ ensuring that the buses and trains aren't overcrowded. The fare needs to only be as high as is required to ensure that there isn't someone not able to fit on the train when it stops.
If you have 100 people waiting on the platform and the train can only hold 50 people, the fare is too low. If the train has room for 100 people, but only 50 are waiting on the platform, the fare is too high.
But there has to be returns. Asking someone to metaphorically dig a hole in your backyard for no reason other than to watch them sweat is gravely detrimental to society.