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>The big reason that passenger rail, even overnight, isn't as economical in north america... That's a choice the country has made by subsidizing some kinds of
by mrgoldenbrown 1y ago
>The big reason that passenger rail, even overnight, isn't as economical in north america...
That's a choice the country
has made by subsidizing some kinds of transit more than others. Rail could be cheaper if we priced in externalities.
- chgs 1y agoWhy would really be cheaper if externalities were priced in - I can see cars and planes being more expensive but how would rail be cheaper?
- Retric 1y agoEconomies of scale. If alternatives get more expensive more people use rail, and the cost per rail rider drops.
- chgs 1y agoOr it just means nobody travels.
- ghaff 1y agoPeople will travel one way or another. They'll just prioritize the factors that are important to them.
- potato3732842 1y agoOr the whole market shrinks because demand is fairly elastic.
- ghaff 1y agoTo some degree. At least in the US, people will tend to drive--perhaps shorter distances--if long distance travel gets too expensive.
- palmfacehn 1y agoHistorically US passenger service was secondary to express mail service. Without express mail service provided by the same trains, passenger service became unprofitable.
- Retric 1y agoThe timeline roughly matches up with that argument, but mail and people transitioned for similar reasons.