Buses are indeed subsidized. But which routes? I bet that the most popular bus routes, the ones that are always packed to the gills, make money. What buses are

Buses are indeed subsidized. But which routes? I bet that the most popular bus routes, the ones that are always packed to the gills, make money. What buses are subsidizing are the unpopular bus routes, the ones whose goal is to increase mobility for those who would otherwise not have it, such as night routes or relatively infrequent peak-hour commuter routes. Those cost a lot to run, and ride-hailing has the luxury of not having to run those routes. I think in the discussion about costs we forget that public transit is, first and foremost, a public service.