Public transportation. Why should it be free? Why should it not be free?

No, I'll settle for Universal Healthcare like 70% of the world's population has but we don't.
 

Attachments

  • Countries-with-Universal-Health-Coverage_website_May15.jpg
    Countries-with-Universal-Health-Coverage_website_May15.jpg
    104.8 KB · Views: 0
There is a compromise to be had in my neck of the woods. Add an additional tax to either gas or property taxes. I can hear the screams now…but this keeps the costs primarily to those that “have” and benefits the “have nots”. Public transportation allows people without other resources to work or attend school or get healthcare or groceries. We all benefit when the least of us benefits.
 
jujube said:
Our county is dropping scheduled bus service.....for the whole county. The powers-that-be say it's underutilized to the point that it's not needed. ... Most buses have always run only once an hour
Click to expand...

No wonder it doesn't get utilized, once an hour is way too long to wait. The bus schedule where I live was once every 20 minutes during weekdays and 40 minutes on weekends, and the 40 minutes was enough to influence me into usually skipping going on the weekend.

Per google:
Frequent service, generally considered every 15 minutes or less, increases ridership because it reduces the need to check schedules and eliminates the stress of missing a bus or train. This convenience is a key factor in encouraging more people to use public transit for various needs beyond traditional commuting.
 
Aunt Bea said:
I guess I’m in the middle on this.

If free public transportation gets a kid to school, a senior citizen to the store or doctor, a worker to an entry level job, etc… I’m ok with it.

Instead of free for all I would favor some sort of bus pass for people that meet whatever criteria is established based on need.
Click to expand...


I had similar thoughts.
 
Unless they qualify for federal and state grants, it's unthinkable that a rural town with a population of only a few thousand could raise enough taxes to support free public transportation. Such a move would necessitate heavy burdens in sales and property taxes. This will not happen unless approved by voters, which is most unlikely where I live.
 
I did use our county bus system to go shopping and to some appointments. It was fifty cents with a medicare card. Honestly, I would have paid more considering a taxi was $20. to go anywhere here. But the company that ran the buses shut down here because our county would not pay for it after they raised the amount they charge the county for the service. Lots of people miss it because now we don't even a taxi service. They keep saying they are working on it but who knows.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top