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User costs for transit were pretty low in the early 1900's. The article says that in 1947 they finally increased the fair from 5¢ to 10¢ -- $0.61 to $1.12 in 20
by titanomachy 9y ago
User costs for transit were pretty low in the early 1900's. The article says that in 1947 they finally increased the fair from 5¢ to 10¢ -- $0.61 to $1.12 in 2018 dollars. New York's fare is now $2.75, and in my city it's closer to $5.
- zanny 9y agoOn one hand, transit should be heavily subsidized and not profitable because profit motives in infrastructure choke the force multiplier economic effects of having said infrastructure. You need some kind of mechanism to disincentivize overuse though, so the 5 or 10c fare worked at the time for that purpose. On the flipside, the NY metro is so decrepid and underbuilt for its demand if you didn't have inflating fares driving potential travelers to clog up other, less efficient transit systems the lines for trains would be out in the streets nearly 24 hours a day.
- pzone 9y agoProfit motives in infrastructure don't necessarily choke anything. If you want cheap fares, ensure there is some competition. And if you really want to, you can subsidize fares. They don't need subsidies in Tokyo though, all of the companies running train lines are generally profitable.