4 ms·

> openly evading Subway fares Nobody has ever cared about this (nor should they, IMO; disclaimer: I have never lived in NYC). Occasionally journalists go to NY

> openly evading Subway fares Nobody has ever cared about this (nor should they, IMO; disclaimer: I have never lived in NYC). Occasionally journalists go to NYC to interview random residents about fare evasion, and the main response is a shrug. Frankly, we’d all be generally better off with free public transit. Governments end up paying most of the bill anyway, and increasing transit use would be a big benefit to those most needing help.

barry-cotter 4y ago
> Frankly, we’d all be generally better off with free public transit. Governments end up paying most of the bill anyway, and increasing transit use would be a big benefit to those most needing help. Not for long. If you turn public transit into a de facto homeless shelter people who have other options will avoid it. No country with good public transport has it free.
- jacobolus 4y ago
  Luxembourg has fare-free transit nationwide. Estonia’s capital Tallinn (a city of >400k residents) has fare-free public transit. Dozens (maybe hundreds?) of other cities around the world have made transit free. In the US, Kansas City has fare-free streetcars and bus system, and many other cities are starting experiments with fare-free transit. Generally residents and city officials are happy with the results.
ZeroGravitas 4y ago
If you don't crack down on free subway rides, next they'll be taking free books from the libraries, helping themselves to health checkups or worse expecting police to investigate their petty crime reports at no expense. And who ends up paying for all that? That's right, the taxpayer.
- jacobolus 4y ago
  I think you’re trying to make a joke, but it’s hard to tell for sure (Poe's law strikes again). Your comment seems like a parody of those “you wouldn’t steal a car” PSA ads trying to discourage copyright infringement. In case you are serious... Fare evasion vs. stealing library books are clearly categorically different. Routine health checkups should be free for everyone; the US profit-focused healthcare system is totally fucked up: outrageously expensive for society, outrageously ineffective, and outrageously unjust.
  - jacobolus 4y ago
    Oh whoops, I totally misread the library book part. Okay, unquestionably a joke. Nevermind my response.
Spooky23 4y ago
I don’t disagree with you, but the fact is the public transit isn’t free in NYC. Is fare evasion a thing? Sure. But when prosecutorial discretion decides that public transit is going to be de facto free, that’s a governance failure that undermines confidence in government. If the DA wanted to be the public face of a movement to transform public transit by eliminating fares, that’s one thing. Saying “we’re not interested in prosecuting theft of services”, that’s not the same.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]

barry-cotter 4y ago

> Frankly, we’d all be generally better off with free public transit. Governments end up paying most of the bill anyway, and increasing transit use would be a big benefit to those most needing help. Not for long. If you turn public transit into a de facto homeless shelter people who have other options will avoid it. No country with good public transport has it free.

jacobolus 4y ago
Luxembourg has fare-free transit nationwide. Estonia’s capital Tallinn (a city of >400k residents) has fare-free public transit. Dozens (maybe hundreds?) of other cities around the world have made transit free. In the US, Kansas City has fare-free streetcars and bus system, and many other cities are starting experiments with fare-free transit. Generally residents and city officials are happy with the results.

ZeroGravitas 4y ago

If you don't crack down on free subway rides, next they'll be taking free books from the libraries, helping themselves to health checkups or worse expecting police to investigate their petty crime reports at no expense. And who ends up paying for all that? That's right, the taxpayer.

jacobolus 4y ago
I think you’re trying to make a joke, but it’s hard to tell for sure (Poe's law strikes again). Your comment seems like a parody of those “you wouldn’t steal a car” PSA ads trying to discourage copyright infringement. In case you are serious... Fare evasion vs. stealing library books are clearly categorically different. Routine health checkups should be free for everyone; the US profit-focused healthcare system is totally fucked up: outrageously expensive for society, outrageously ineffective, and outrageously unjust.
- jacobolus 4y ago
  Oh whoops, I totally misread the library book part. Okay, unquestionably a joke. Nevermind my response.

Spooky23 4y ago

I don’t disagree with you, but the fact is the public transit isn’t free in NYC. Is fare evasion a thing? Sure. But when prosecutorial discretion decides that public transit is going to be de facto free, that’s a governance failure that undermines confidence in government. If the DA wanted to be the public face of a movement to transform public transit by eliminating fares, that’s one thing. Saying “we’re not interested in prosecuting theft of services”, that’s not the same.

deleted 4y ago
[deleted]