> the fact that you can get across 20 miles of NYC sprawl for $2.50 is an unbeatable deal. Also, the people who need to travel the furthest in NYC tend to be

> the fact that you can get across 20 miles of NYC sprawl for $2.50 is an unbeatable deal. Also, the people who need to travel the furthest in NYC tend to be the ones who can afford it the least[0], which makes the flat price incredibly important. Let's not forget that one-third of all subway stops in the US are in NYC[1]. Unlimited travel between any two of these costs $116/month. That's an incredible deal indeed! > Would any private company settle for as thin (or no) margins as any MTA does? Absolutely not; the MTA itself barely 'settles' for it. They're robbed blind every year by the state legislature, because most of the folks in Albany don't care about public transit in the city. Every year, the MTA is the perennial scapegoat for the state's budget issues, and they end up having to pick up the slack and take the public heat. No private company would ever stand for this, and the MTA only does because it literally has no other choice (being a highly regulated entity). [0] This is not always true in some other cities, where the people traveling the furthest by public transit tend to be coming from the wealthiest areas and working the highest-paying jobs. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_metro_systems https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_metro_systems