02-28-2020, 08:00 PM
rjmacs wrote:
[quote=Paul F.]
Correction; it's not "free"... they just shifted the cost from the people that use it, to everyone, via tax revenue's, minus the inherent overhead of using the tax system.
Not saying it's a bad use of those funds, just making sure everyone doesn't think "free" mean free.
Access to transit is a gift the nation gives its residents and visitors. Good for them.
Excepting the folks in the sticks who feel put upon from all the Big City spending and attention hogging.
That said, I have supported this since I was a kid. I've never understood how getting people out of cars and onto buses (and trains where applicable) should be a monetary proposition. There are still lots of buses with few riders that are currently subsidized by those full buses. But knocking off those empty buses cuts off people from jobs, etc.
A secondary (and really primary) consideration is to reduce the ballooning amount of hired cars roaming the streets. Something up to 40% of car share traffic are roaming around without a fare on board, creating stupid amounts of extra traffic in already congested areas.