MARTA transit plan includes 21 miles of light rail

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by cqholt

Uber just announced a $5.2 BILLION Q2 loss. That is enough to fund the entire MoreMARTA Atlanta project list and add LRT on the entire BeltLine.
https://jalopnik.com/public-transit-...ion-1837080980

Come on, business community! What you guys write off as junk could fund an entire transit system.

The big boys operate at a scale that dwarfs anything the little man can do.

[samiwas1]

Originally Posted by cqholt

Uber just announced a $5.2 BILLION Q2 loss. That is enough to fund the entire MoreMARTA Atlanta project list and add LRT on the entire BeltLine.
https://jalopnik.com/public-transit-...ion-1837080980

How does a company lose that much money?? Sounds like some of those really cheap rides aren't cutting it.

[Need4Camaro]

Originally Posted by cqholt

Uber just announced a $5.2 BILLION Q2 loss. That is enough to fund the entire MoreMARTA Atlanta project list and add LRT on the entire BeltLine.
https://jalopnik.com/public-transit-...ion-1837080980

Originally Posted by samiwas1

How does a company lose that much money?? Sounds like some of those really cheap rides aren't cutting it.

What is so ironic is this happened even though they pay their drivers literal dirt.

Supposedly they don't have a firm plan as to how to work toward profitability. They may have also overcompensated in competition with Lyft and failed.

I will need to state though, despite these losses - if this is in some way proposing that writing off their business to fund transit... they would have to pretty much do that for the entire country to make playing grounds level and fair... We're talking a nationwide loss versus 1 transit system here.


On the other hand however, I never really was a fan of these rideshares. I don't really see them as a means of alleviating traffic.

[waronxmas]

Originally Posted by Need4Camaro

On the other hand however, I never really was a fan of these rideshares. I don't really see them as a means of alleviating traffic.

If definitely does not since there is no way to control how many people actually take up driving.
There was a report last year that showed that congestion has gone up in central cities everywhere due to ride-sharing. http://www.schallerconsult.com/rides...tomobility.pdf


Oddly enough, this is one of the main reasons why the taxi medallion bureaucracy was created. Without that control in place it devolves into madness pretty quick.

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by waronxmas

If definitely does not since there is no way to control how many people actually take up driving.
There was a report last year that showed that congestion has gone up in central cities everywhere due to ride-sharing. http://www.schallerconsult.com/rides...tomobility.pdf


Oddly enough, this is one of the main reasons why the taxi medallion bureaucracy was created. Without that control in place it devolves into madness pretty quick.

Absolutely. The jitneys were vehemently opposed by early Atlanta transit operators.

See this article, for instance.

On January 31, 1915, the New York Times announced that "one of the most astonishing businesses
. . . this country has seen . . . has taken the West by storm and extended eastward." This
new business—the result of lower automobile prices, limited regulation, and consumer demand—
created the first automobile passenger service that could challenge the dominance of the streetcars in
American streets. According to the Times, the jitney’s slogan, "Take You Anywhere and Stop at Any
Corner," explained the jitney’s appeal to urban residents. After years of monopolistic streetcar
service, jitneys, privately owned automobiles modified for passenger service, were a competitive
alternative with quicker service and greater comfort for the same price. From 1915 to 1925,
controlling access to public streets in Atlanta became a crucial debate framing a prolonged struggle to
regulate jitneys on the city’s streets. Supporters and enemies pushed the city council to regulate
jitneys, and jitney operators struggled to defend their business against unfair regulation. This regional
struggle reflected national trends as the rise of the automobile and changing transportation habit
transformed the American city.

Read more.... A Question of Progress and Welfare: The Jitney Bus Phenomenon in Atlanta, 1915-1925