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Not true.
Forgotten April 1992 in Los Angeles already? How do you think the riots spread? (All public transportation was shut down during the riots).
Actual gangbangers and career criminals generally DO have access to cars. The homeless who commit crimes often don't, but I don't think you're talking about the homeless.
And if they don't - they can steal them....
We're not talking about a riot. We're talking about common, everyday, run-of-the-mill violence, vandalism and shoplifting. If you think that doesn't go on in the hood, well, I guess you've never really been to the hood then.
THEN DON'T BUY PROCESSED FOOD. Holy crap! That's what I do!!!! What a concept, don't buy food you don't want to eat. If you love freedom then let food providers make what there is a market for. If you're going to tell me what to eat and what food producers can produce, then you're going to have to let me control women's bodies. Is that fair? Or can you be consistent in your pro-choice views and let that apply to all facets of life?
Processed food is subsidized. It's definitely an area where the market should determine what is produced but that's not possible as long as Big Ag gets subsidized.
Look, I am not a transportation planner, nor do I expect every transport project o be funded immediately OR paid off by tax payers within 10 years.
About your questions, have public transport projects paid for themselves yet? I don't know. I have honestly not looked it up.
But have you looked up how the public transport system of Amsterdam or Stockholm or Berlin or any other European hub is faring? Are all of them in dismal failure? Have any of them seen success? Even in just getting local citizens to use their cars less?
I think this is a missing piece for many debators against public transport- they are so hel* bent on figuring out how public transport did not work out that they completely miss out how it did. I am not a statistician. Please do not demand that info of me. If you are interested, figure it out yourself smarty. In the meantime, what is your point and angle? Even if you are pumping for car use, there is a lot of interesting angles to get involved with the public transport model that will not leave you so alienated
Actually, there is an excellent example in the case of Curitiba, Brazil (if memory serves correct) where they adopted a Rapid Bus Transit model that effectively allowed public transportation users to reach there destinations faster than individual cars. This was made possible by rigging the traffic lights to always give the green light to oncoming buses. Ridership grew and the numbers of people driving their cars dropped. I don't have specifics in way of percentages, nor do I know how the program was financed. However, it is possible to have mass transit that deters people from driving their own vehicles. If a city in Brazil can do this, why can't we?
MTA claims it can no longer afford to support lines with mediocre ridership:
Metro Chief Executive Art Leahy said there were “astonishingly low†ridership levels on buses headed into downtown each morning and that the system operated at 42% capacity.
Leahy here reveals the inherent advantage of bus lines over rail lines – you can easily add to and subtract from bus service as the city changes and the needs of your customers evolve. (MTA says it will “enhance†service on some heavier-demand lines.)
If bus routes aren't sustainable, why would rail be?
In general and taken as an aggregate of commuters,not enough people ride buses or take trains to justify the expenditure of public funds on them.
Public transportation is nothing more than a giant wealth redistribution scheme.
Big oil companies have traditionally funded Republicans thus they are always against anything that saves our country oil and makes us less oil dependent.
Judging by the number of posts on here from the right wing disparaging public transportation, I must wonder (applying the same logic that the right wing frequently applies to Sarah Palin and the religious right): Why is the right wing afraid of public transportation?
I don't think many people disparage public transportation. But many people disagree with public funding for programs that provide very little benefit. Most of us believe public transportation should fund itself.
What we are "afraid" of is the government taking more and more of our hard earned dollars for frivolous programs.
And you don't need to disparage Sarah Palin to make your point .... well, unless you are afraid of her.
Big oil companies have traditionally funded Republicans thus they are always against anything that saves our country oil and makes us less oil dependent.
Can we then make the argument that powerful unions and Dems represent the self interest of the autoworker and will thus stand in the way of any attempt to get people out of their cars and onto mass transit?
Conspiracy theories aside, people prefer the freedom of the automobile.
And "freedom" seems to be a bad word in some camps.
You ever try bringing a load of 2X4's home on the bus?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Toyman at Jewel Lake
My fear is that public transportation will not be able to operate revenue-neutral based on the prices users are willing to pay. Taxes will have to be increased on everyone, to support the portion of the population that chooses to use public transportation.
We have had a monorail here for 20+ years. I think 12 people have ridden it so far. Maybe if I ever went where this 'Pubic Transportation' went, I might support it. But, it never has (or will), and neither will I.
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