Amtrak gets a $10 billion subsidy? Didn't they get like $1.8 billion this year and it was a record amount?
$40 Bil over 10 years is $4 B/yr, which is 4x $1B which is the typical subsidy.
Ah, I see. Was confused by the (in retrospective very obvious) phrasing.
And who's gonna go for that?
I would. And I'd pay a tax on a ticket, too, just like I do to fly. Or drive on a toll road.
Do you know how many barriers that would raise? Many people can barely afford to pay for one trip on the subway or the bus. Plus, the system will undoubtedly lose ridership, so I'd venture to say the net change would be a loss. I don't see this happening anytime in the near future.
I personally think that that would be a really bad move. In fact, the current $2.75 is too high for a lot of people. Let's say you are a four person family taking the subway round-trip somewhere. At $2.75 per ride, you'll be spending $22 for that round-trip. If you have a limited income, that can really add up. If you hiked it to $5, that four person round-trip now costs $40. For public transit which many people need to take at least twice per day, every day, I think that that's just way too high.
Agreed. You don't need to plan in advance and figure out where you're going and how much it will cost. You don't have to pay extra if you miss your stop or have to change your route because of a service disruption or anything like that. You are "free", knowing that it's always $2.75.
I appreciate the fact that there is simplicity. But I think we're at a time where fair pricing to increase revenue to preserve and maintain The Beast is vastly necessary.
