tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post6851957486280545729..comments2024-02-01T04:37:41.878-05:00Comments on Cap'n Transit Rides Again: More on profits and subsidiesCap'n Transithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17057887736728828646noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post-81579513873125673932009-02-09T09:29:00.000-05:002009-02-09T09:29:00.000-05:00Exactly, Bruce. For example, Philadelphia spends 1...Exactly, Bruce. For example, Philadelphia spends 180M/yr on parking enforcement financed by tickets. This is essentially an anti-urban-business tax. Parking tickets are treated as a business expense by messenger and delivery companies. What a waste.fpteditorshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04620275872850435922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post-9720209135597899012009-02-06T14:05:00.000-05:002009-02-06T14:05:00.000-05:00One of the big reasons why the car has been so suc...One of the big reasons why the car has been so successful at soaking up public subsidies is because so many car subsidies are "problem driven" ... people get cars, that generates problems, and businesses and communities have to solve the problems.<BR/><BR/>By contrast, much more of public transport subsidies are "pay in advance" subsidies ... until someone comes up with the money, the line is not built, the buses are not purchased, the drivers are not hired ... there is little opportunity for an individual to start "buying tickets", pushing public transport vehicles out into circulation and then forcing everyone else to cope with the consequences.<BR/><BR/>So subsidies for public transport tend to be widely publicized since someone level of government has to "approve" "$XXX in subsidies", while subsidies for car transport is squirreled away in business operating costs, public budgets, police force manpower distribution, hospital emergency rooms, and sundry other places.BruceMcFhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08502035881761277885noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post-14507068283502756262009-02-06T09:13:00.000-05:002009-02-06T09:13:00.000-05:00You know I've had this conversation with anti-tran...You know I've had this conversation with anti-transit folks a 100 times and they either don't believe that the auto is subsidized or something because the point is impossible to get across. Even when pointing to studies and such. The belief run deeper that the car == freedom. And so that is the discussion that needs to be changed.Davehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15689928015042507584noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post-30191208459683452582009-02-06T05:53:00.000-05:002009-02-06T05:53:00.000-05:00You are right. The heart of the anti-transit argum...You are right. The heart of the anti-transit argument is "I am not paying for lazy you-know-whats to have free anything." The response should be purely economic. Re-frame the issue. The economics are on our side. Autosprawl is <B> subsidized </B>. Public transit is an <B>investment</B> that benefits all.fpteditorshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04620275872850435922noreply@blogger.com