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Location: Chapel Hill, NC, formerly NoVA and Phila
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Where I live - Chapel Hill, NC - there is free bus service for everyone. Although my family does not use it much, I don't mind it being rolled into my taxes. For one, it is used by many college students who may otherwise drink and drive. Two, it alleviates traffic and parking problems around town. The buses go to most neighborhoods, to UNC hospital, the university, the shopping mall, the main downtown street, and most major places you would need to go - oh yeah, most importantly it takes you to the UNC basketball games. It's actually a pretty nice system.
I took the free college bus the other day from my town to a town a half hour away. It was easy to get to, I paid no gas or bus fare, it was direct, the students were not bothersome, the bus was clean, and I had an enjoyable ride directly to my destination without having to walk far.
I am not including subways and trains or trams in my question here, because many have no interest in those in old age. Of places you have researched, which places have a good bus system and/or senior transport system? (Senior vans are typically operated by municipal or town aging councils, are typically free or low fare, and typically 8 to 12 seats or so – mini buses).
I don't look at it this way, though I understand what you're saying. But you are also paying for all the schools that you do not use, the public facilities you do not use, the high municipal administrator salaries and pensions (much of this personnel a waste and not needed), other peoples' trash pickup with your taxes, etc. Here I have to pay, through taxes, for a town-owned golf course that I could care less about, and "cruise night" and other townie functions that I never go to, an unneeded new library...you get the picture. Of all these, I feel most inclined to have my tax dollars go to getting old and feeble-ish folks where they need to go. Some day I'll be using this service myself.
The real problem in public systems is that often the actual cost is j kind of hidden to local taxpeyrs. For example;a nearby citiy is lokig at their bus system fig uring that federasl funds are dryig up to be preapred .Its cost like 3.2 b millio dollars to operate.It takes in 300K fro fares. he remainder is half federal and half local funding .That mena havinf g to raise taxes when and if federal funding is reduced or eliminated. They have even seen that they can contract taxi's at cheaper price from private vedors which wil retrn taxes. It no different tha the scholl buses that only cam einot being when it was federally mandated by mvoing students to iinergate neighborhhod schools. It one of the largest parts of the local school system now in funding and depends on alot of different funding. One of the problem we have as taxpayers is the funding is often sold as free money as long as its grant realted and not just directly related to our taxes locally;and leads to bad choices.
AFAIK, all of the programs for senior transit use federal money. I think it's safe to say the programs, if they survive, will become much more restrictive. It's ridiculous that I have qualified for senior transit simply because I turned 60 years old a year ago.
I just hope the programs will continue for those who are disabled and those who do not live near public transit.
This looks nice and is a lot more efficient than a huge bus that only has a few passengers on any given day. This one does not seem to be restricted to seniors and disabled persons, whereas the ones here are.
Where I live - Chapel Hill, NC - there is free bus service for everyone. Although my family does not use it much, I don't mind it being rolled into my taxes. For one, it is used by many college students who may otherwise drink and drive. Two, it alleviates traffic and parking problems around town. The buses go to most neighborhoods, to UNC hospital, the university, the shopping mall, the main downtown street, and most major places you would need to go - oh yeah, most importantly it takes you to the UNC basketball games. It's actually a pretty nice system.
Those are great points, eliminating a lot of traffic and reducing air pollution, plus getting college kids off the roads. I'd much rather fund public transportation than the wasteful building projects going on in my town, plus a town golf course used by only those who golf.
Where I live - Chapel Hill, NC - there is free bus service for everyone. Although my family does not use it much, I don't mind it being rolled into my taxes. For one, it is used by many college students who may otherwise drink and drive. Two, it alleviates traffic and parking problems around town. The buses go to most neighborhoods, to UNC hospital, the university, the shopping mall, the main downtown street, and most major places you would need to go - oh yeah, most importantly it takes you to the UNC basketball games. It's actually a pretty nice system.
Right now Chapel Hill is on the wrong side of town and I wanted to use resources otherwise but we could end up there for those reason down the road. Wouldn't take much to sell my wife on it. The timing of our retirement wasn't good for Chapel Hill as the housing down turn in the Triangle had not yet kicked in and it was further to the shore.
In my small city there is a free "Senior Ride" service (very small bus). You call one day ahead and you can be taken where you want to go, such as grocery shopping or a doctor's appointment. This service operates seven days a week. I don't get why it needs to operate seven days a week. People who need the service can plan their shopping and so forth for the weekdays.
I resent paying for my own transportation and paying for others too. Talk about a sense of entitlement.
Well, you'd really resent it in the UK. In Scotland anyone over 60 can get a free bus pass and travel all over Scotland for free. I'm in a semi-rural location but a bus comes past by house every hour. It's the same in England but they are gradually raising the entitlement age.
Paid for by taxes.
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It's actually a pretty nice system.
