Why Public Transit Doesn't (currently) Work
You know me. I'm all for social systems and public programs that provide for the community.
But I'm also well aware that, in their current state, they don't work worth a crap.
If public transit was run as a business, the bus drivers could not get away with the way they treat their customers. If public transit was run as a business, there wouldn't be so much red tape to go through to put an extra train or two on a line that obviously needs it.
Standing in the station, waiting for the N line last night so I could get to my WineCamp meeting, I had to let 2 trains go by. They were so packed the doors wouldn't open. People looked ill. Meanwhile, about 5 J trains came by, 4 L trains and 2 M trains...all pretty empty. The third N came along packed full, but I crammed myself uncomfortably in, squishing the hell out of some poor older woman, who looked as if she was going to pass out three stops later.
There were still people left at many of the stations who couldn't get on. When I asked the muni operator, she said, "Yeah, we know, but the decision to add more trains to a route goes through a process." How long was that process? "Could be 6 months. Could be years."
Obviously the person who designed this 'process' never rode public transit.
Man...if local politicians were forced to ride public transit for only one week, I bet things ...um... may change.
But here is where the argument for privitization comes into play. Privitization allows for competition. If all of us crammed onto that train had a viable alternative that treated us better, would we take it? Damn right, we would. Of course, there are drawbacks to privatizing public programs. Profit mongering, for one, but dammit, the muni needs a kick in the butt.
And why don't people speak up? Well, I'm pretty sure that many do. But I think it falls on deaf ears. Nobody wants to take responsibility for it. It's public transit, right? Don't like it? Get a car, you bum.
There is nothing social about social systems.
6 Comments:
The same thing happens here in Melbourne (Aus), and the transport sytem has been privatised.
I ride a line that sounds like your "N" line. Evening rush hours are the pits and it makes you wonder how fairs can go up with no change in service quality.
Why can't pinko marketing work here?
I feel your pain and your frustration, but I'm always weary of people saying "if only it were run like a business." First, remember what you said about the UPS service guy? He works for a business and it didn't motivate him to help you on your first call. Crappy service knows no boundaries between for-profit/non-profit/public sectors. Second, I always think of Republicans saying government should be run like a business. It can learn from business, but it should not be run that way because it's not one. If mass transit were run like a business, it mostly wouldn't exist. Public subsidies build infrasturucture and subsidize fares in a way business would never do. For-profit companies wouldn't build lines to poor areas and they'd charge full-fare, like ten bucks from Union Square to DT Oakland. They might add trains, but they'd also likely take away trains from times and lines that are convenient for many, but not completely full and thus not maximizing profit. Of course business needs to thank public transit for affordably and mostly reliably getting workers to their jobs every day. Thanks for letting me rant!
At least you can complain about public transportation. Some of us don't have it :)
If it was privatized it would be completely broke in a heartbeat. The only reason buses and trains run at all is the subsidies that are required.
The problem with public transit is that it's perceived as the "welfare wagon" and the only people who ride it are either too poor to own a car or a left wing nut case. Until that perception gets fixed, it won't improve.
And SF has one of the best public transit systems in the country. Try riding the bus sometime (no trains at all) in Anytown, USA.
ya public transit doesn't work because nothing really works in a truly naturally integrated fashion. Everything is segregated into haves and have nots, my have is bigger than yours and I have not the wherewithal to even get on the bus let alone receive respect and civil treatment.
I scratch my head and wonder what kind of pavement we can evolve that will allow us all to go where we want in a perfectly controlled orderly safe and profitable way, the extent of the network productive in an entropic regime, world wide synergy capable of transforming energies of galactic flow to unobtrusive local structures of all dimensions, gravity and antigravity.
Think about that
tx
Post a Comment
<< Home