Posted on 01/15/2020 11:51:56 AM PST by karpov
I've practiced that for many years in traffic. Whether it saved in the long run, I wasn't sure, but sitting and waiting for a clear left can drive a person nuts.
We live in an era of global dominance of the US dollar, printed money and massive debt. The unprecedented confluence of these things support the fantasies and social-engineering of American collectivists and progressives, and has for generation. It has convinced socialists that there is money everywhere for their schemes.
When the bubble pops, leftist cities will get very ugly as they face the huge gap between their ideological fantasies and expectations, and the money to pay for them.
“Anyone who tries to use them as toilets or sleeping lounges …”
That’s exactly what would happen if they were free. And in winter, they’d be full of homeless people riding them to stay out of the cold.
Who will pay for it?
The infamous “They”, is who!
Taxes would pay for it.
It is not an entirely stupid proposition. They built roads, and we all can use them, for the most part, without paying. Instead, we pay tax on the gas we buy, which sometimes gets used to pay for roadwork.
We have police, and fire and rescue, available whenever we need them, and for the most part, we don’t pay for those services.
We have bike paths, we have parks, and often they are free, and our taxes pay for them.
Sidewalks make it easier for us to walk places; we have crossing lights to protect us from cars, and we don’t pay a user fee for either of them.
And often times, it is free to park on the streets, while other times the meters are turned on and you pay — which means sometimes, we are getting a free service paid for with our taxes.
Yes, the bus service costs money to operate, but if the city residents decide that the ability to move freely about the city is valuable enough to pay for with their tax dollars, why not? Not having to collect money should make things more efficient, lead to less crime because people won’t be stealing the money.
And if this makes it more likely people won’t own a car, that takes cars off the streets, which is a good thing in congested cities, IF IT IS THE CHOICE OF THE OWNERS, rather than dictated by the government.
The public transportation system in the Denver area is good, but it only gets 15% of its budget from fares. The rest is from taxes collected by the counties in the Denver area. So most people who aren’t using it still pay for it.
You are correct.
However, I expect the bubble will not pop within our lifetimes. Probably not for decades. Nearly everyone on the planet has a vested interest in that NOT happening, so it will only happen when all else is exhausted.
“she lives on a monthly unemployment check for $235”
BULLSH*T!
folks that pay a dollar to ride the bus can not pay 10 to uber
These lines are not paying for themselves already.
Not one metropolitan mass transit light rail system pays it’s own way.
The highest attempt at it was something like 65% of the total cost paid for by fees.
Most are far below that level.
Evidently the second article below lists a very few cities whose mass transit district’s (out of 1,800) fees cover all expenses for light rail, buses, and any other modes.
Why Does Everyone Want Public Transit To Pay For Itself?
https://aquicore.com/blog/everyone-want-public-transit-pay/
How Much Money U.S. Transit Systems Lose Per Trip, in 1 Chart
I pay $1.10 now I’m a senior.
> As bad as they are to ride now, they’ll be even worse & more dangerous if no one has to pay. <
Good point. There is an amusement park about ten miles from me. It had free admission. You just paid for the rides you rode on. Well, that place became thug and bum central. Not child-friendly at all.
So the park did the sensible thing. It started to charge admission. Things have since calmed down a bit.
. . . IOW, this kind of crap (plus the aggressive panhandling) would turn them into barnyards on wheels to the point that normal people would stop riding them. But I apologize to barnyard animals which are better behaved.
Well ok, I’ll keep driving my Z06 Corvette.
Buses in my area covered windows with ‘art’ so drivers couldn’t see a bus designed to hold 70 people was carrying two citizens.
Biggest advantage for cities is NOT having to create reports showing how few people use these behemoths...
Money grows on trees—everybody in the cargo cult knows that!
TNSTAAFL 101
The day the “progressives” take that class and pass is the day we can relax.
Nebah happin, GI !
I hope that you’ve saved some money.
If cities can likewise save on public transit fuel, theoretically can help pay for roundabouts.
In fact, since drivers that would otherwise get stuck behind left-turning vehicles might feel gas savings from straight and right-turn driving, local taxpayers can also temporarily help pay for roundabouts.
Well, DUH!
Ask Bernie how his system of "free stuff" works. He seems to have it figured out. 😂
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