We don't expect hospitals to make money. We don't expect highways to make money. We don't expect public schools to make money. We don't expect waste removal to make money. So why do we constantly have that expectation of public transit?
We don't expect hospitals to make money. We don't expect highways to make money. We don't expect public schools to make money. We don't expect waste removal to make money. So why do we constantly have that expectation of public transit?
@olivi_eh I think society might work better if there are more things we expected to turn up a profit. Freeways and parking, notably. I'd be 100% in favor of requiring transit to pay its own way IF we made all parking optional and paying, and put tolls on all freeways.
Actually, schools, hospitals, highways, and waste collection should make money. If they don’t, they are misallocated.
@olivi_eh Most cities use private companies for waste removal
@olivi_eh We expect it to atleast break even. Except public schools.
@olivi_eh They don't make money because public transit has turned into an expensive public union job program. Making it impossible to change routes, all at the expense of riders and tax payers.
Because it only benefits a small subset of tax payers that others shouldn't be subsidizing. Schools, hospitals and waste removal benefit everyone. Highways benefit everyone, for their own travel, public transport, emergency services, critical movement of goods, including food, security.
@olivi_eh Public transit shouldn’t have to make money, but it should be ran like a profitable business.
@olivi_eh Because historically if a public service that is pretending to be a business is given a blank cheque, they tend to use every penny they have access to.
@olivi_eh We should expect all of those to be profitable.