MarketWatch: Mass-transit transit fares should be eliminated, not increased

[marmar]

Free ride
Commentary: Mass-transit transit fares should be eliminated, not increased

By Irwin Kellner, MarketWatch


PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y. (MarketWatch) -- All across the country, mass-transit systems are raising fares and reducing service when our national priorities suggest that they should be doing just the opposite.

In doing this, these systems are taking a very narrow view of their reason for being. They are looking at themselves the way a private business does -- balancing costs versus revenues.

Because they think like a private concern, they are responding to rising costs and reduced subsidies from their governments by increasing fares and, in some instances, cutting back on service, as well.
Instead, they should consider themselves in a broader context. They are organizations whose mission is more than simply transporting people from their homes to their offices in the morning and back in the evening. They exist to provide the best quality of life for everyone who lives in the regions they serve.

By raising fares and cutting service at this time, they are doing a disservice to the communities they serve.

For one thing, ridership is up. This is in response to last year's surge in gas prices to $4 a gallon and more. And even though such costs have since fallen, most riders are sticking with their trains and busses, having discovered the joys of reading, writing or simply napping while commuting. .........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/Mass-transit-systems-taking-wrong/story.aspx?guid=%7B7D3B4CEB%2D8C3A%2D4D5F%2D83FD%2DD26CA33FA5F9%7D

[terisan]

1. Good Post . If they are not free they should at least be very very cheap. Worth subsidy

[muriel_volestrangler]

2. A Belgian town is trying it

The 71,000-strong Belgian city of Hasselt has virtually no congestion. The city’s said to have ‘come alive’. It hasn’t introduced congestion charging or specifically banned the private car, though many areas are pedestrianised. Instead, enhanced bus services are free to all. In just over ten years, Hasselt has seen an increase in use of 1,300 per cent. Because my Walloon isn’t up to par, it’s difficult to understand the costs and benefits. Capital and revenue investment in buses is no doubt substantial. But then again, there are fewer requirements for ultra-expensive road projects.

http://omnibuses.blogspot.com/2009/01/from-bournemouth-to-belgium.html

Though London has made bus travel free for all children under 16; some people think this has turned the top decks into Lord of the Flies.