David Smith Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Dotsero Dude Wrote:
> > If this country were completely run by Tea
> > Party-type conservatives, all public funding
> for
> > public transportation, including commuter rail,
> > would cease. Then there would be no more
> > accidents at grade crossings caused by anyone
> > regardless of race, gender, age, religious
> > affiliation or immigration status.
> >
> > It's as simple as that.
> >
> > You can thank me later.
>
> That's pure paranoia. You're assuming that
> pay-as-you-go funding can't replace the
> rob-Peter-to-pay-Paul funding your types find so
> appealing. How about we actually try this novel
> concept of making users of mass transit pay for it
> instead of non-users?

As sumotuwe stated, this was done before. Commuter rail services in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Washington DC, Chicago and San Francisco were at one time privately operated, but the costs of providing the services became a huge financial burden to the railroads. As the railroads threatened to abandon the service, the only option was for public authorities to assume responsibility for operating the service, and over time, buy new locomotives and passenger cars, rehabilitate old stations and build new stations and invest in tracks, bridges, signals and other infrastructure. There was and is no way for fares to cover these capital expenses along with covering all operating costs.

Remove the public funding and the commuter rail service would just go away. Nothing in the history of commuter rail in North America or the current economics of commuter rail suggests otherwise.

That's not paranoia. In metro areas where a public agency did not step forward to take over commuter rail services or where the public agency stopped funding commuter rail services, those services ended.



>
> Also, you conveniently forgot about the private
> freight railroads and their grade crossings ......
> typical.

You're right. I forgot about freight railroads. My bad. The statement has been rewritten accordingly:

If this country were completely run by Tea Party-type conservatives, all public funding
for public transportation, including commuter rail, would cease. Then there would be no more accidents at grade crossings used by commuter trains caused by anyone regardless of race, gender, age, religious affiliation or immigration status.