To answer both yours and the above response: --> demand for transportation is absolutely elastic. There's no doubt there - it's easily demonstrable. If right

To answer both yours and the above response: --> demand for transportation is absolutely elastic. There's no doubt there - it's easily demonstrable. If right now you increased the cost of a tram ticket so that the Subway could break even and make a 5% profit, then usage would drop off quite noticeably. The difference between a 'market rate' and 'free' is very substantial, and it's a first-order misapplication of resources. Making stuff 'free' is almost always a bad idea. I actually do believe that we should invest more in subways, because the net advantages are quite a lot (at least in North America we don't invest enough), but my point is we have to be careful about the logic of social spending. Supply and Demand, basic Economics don't just magically go away.