[LordOpie]

what's your thoughts?

I think all forms of public transportation should be free. Let taxes cover the expenses... which will be lower cuz there's no system to maintain for collecting fees. Granted, some people will lose their jobs, but other than that, I see no negatives. I just wonder if it'll get more people off the streets.

 

[Silver]

You commie....

 

[spincrazy]

Free. Often only a minute percentage of fares pay for anything but higher ups annual raises anyway. Tis subsidized shady biz to begin with. FREE. We should get something tangiable for our tax dollars.

Plus, I want to drive cop cars. Back in Seattle I think it was, maybe Portland, there was 'publicly owned' written on or near the license plates of cop cars. WHEN DO I GET TO DRIVE EM?

 

[RhinofromWA]

Originally posted by spincrazy
Free. Often only a minute percentage of fares pay for anything but higher ups annual raises anyway. Tis subsidized shady biz to begin with. FREE. We should get something tangiable for our tax dollars.

Plus, I want to drive cop cars. Back in Seattle I think it was, maybe Portland, there was 'publicly owned' written on or near the license plates of cop cars. WHEN DO I GET TO DRIVE EM?

They are*correction* they want to*correction* advertising on the cop cars now..........

but I have no problem with that.

 

[spincrazy]

Originally posted by RhinofromWA
They are*correction* they want to*correction* advertising on the cop cars now..........

but I have no problem with that.

I don't think I have a problem with that, but I have no idea what you're talking about.

 

[RhinofromWA]

Originally posted by spincrazy
I don't think I have a problem with that, but I have no idea what you're talking about.

Hahaha sorry.

They want to support the cost of cop cars by letting advertisers paste ads on the sides of cop cars etc.

People freaked out because they think Nabisco (or anyone really) will then have leverage if they ever do anything bad....."hey you can't touch me I helped pay for that car!".......

like that lines ever works when John Q Public uses the same line about his tax dollars paying the cops salary.

 

[Jr_Bullit]

I dunno - I'm in support of any and all forms of public transportation, pretty much whatever the cost so long as it's actually built in a method that can be used. It's cheaper than a tank of gas and less time and stress than driving!

I'm also in support of toll roads Keeps the traffic down at least on the highways/freeways that get tolled

 

[Tenchiro]

Public transportation is a good thing if done right, i.e. Portland, OR. They have the most extensive bus and light rail system I have ever seen, and you can get almost anywhere on it.

But if I were to use it up here it would add hours to my commute. Not to mention me having to walk a mile each way to get to the nearest bus stop.

 

[LordOpie]

Originally posted by Silver
You commie....

your point?

Originally posted by Tenchiro
Public transportation is a good thing if done right, i.e. Portland, OR. They have the most extensive bus and light rail system I have ever seen, and you can get almost anywhere on it.

I would love for Denver's system to approach that of Portland. While I'm dreaming, I'd love for a train from Denver Airport to Vail... with stops in downtown, west side of Denver, Summit County (for Breckenridge, Keystone, Copper), then ending at vail & beaver creek. It should run every dang day of the year! I'd bike and ski in the mountains more. Plus, it should be free

 

[Heidi]

Ummm, I need to back up. I'd just be happy if we really HAD public transportation here that worked.

 

[RhinofromWA]

I commuted to Seattle for a couple weeks and it worked out alright.

I did drive to the park-and-ride station though. The Express ran to within 50ft of the front door of the business. Not bad.

There is no way I was going to commute in my truck DT. F that. That is the only way to commute DT for work. But it is over 3 miles to the park and ride from the house.....I could ride but I was wearing a suit.

 

[Silver]

Originally posted by LordOpie
your point?

Nothing really, I agree with you.

California is a car state though...

 

[spincrazy]

Originally posted by Silver
Nothing really, I agree with you.

California is a car state though...

Sure is. Piss poor planning, much like Seattle. I feel for you JR and Rhino. I don't miss the roads and public transit there at all. Seattle does have electric busses though - too bad they stopped thinking as soon as they did that. Portland's systems rock hard. NYC and Paris kick ass!

 

[WillRidesRigid]

I've heard Portland is supposed to have one of the best Public Transports, thats kind of sad.

Having lived in Portland for 20 years, IMHO Tri-Met is just plain slow, aside from the lucky few routes. I can go shorter distances faster on a bike, and longer distances much faster in a car. W/ the fare being $1.30 its actually cheaper to drive an economy car

I wish they would shorten the stop times on the MAX, It takes over an hour to get to Hillsboro from the Rose Quarter(its 17 miles). Tri-Met is good in some places and really lacking in others, North Portland gets the shaft, The 1 comes every half hour when its fast and stops at 7pm on saturday.

 

[LordOpie]

Originally posted by Silver
I agree with you.

whoa! Four Horsemen just rode thru my office! :devil:

 

[mr_dove]

I don't support across the board tax increases to pay for stuff like this. I think taxes should be applies to certain things in order to pay for services that are related to them.

i.e. need money for health care, raise taxes on cigarettes and alchohol.

So, in keeping with that idea, gasoline taxes should be raised substantially in order to provide lots more money for public transportation. It's kinda a kill two birds with one stone kinda thing. You reduce traffic congestion in two ways instead of just one.

 

[Silver]

Originally posted by LordOpie
whoa! Four Horsemen just rode thru my office! :devil:

Well, you occasionally get things right

I thought we agreed on the spinning Jesus pops too, didn't we?

 

[Serial Midget]

Public tansportation is a no go if you live in a rural area... however traffic conjestion is minimal.

 

[Squeak]

I use Denvers Bus system almost every day. We need more! I am all for free.

My route is 2.50 each way. I get a pass at a discount through work, and I pay for it easy over the month. I save over 100 miles a week of driving, 400 a month, 4800 a year.

 

[spincrazy]

Originally posted by mr_dove
I don't support across the board tax increases to pay for stuff like this. I think taxes should be applies to certain things in order to pay for services that are related to them.

i.e. need money for health care, raise taxes on cigarettes and alchohol.

So, in keeping with that idea, gasoline taxes should be raised substantially in order to provide lots more money for public transportation. It's kinda a kill two birds with one stone kinda thing. You reduce traffic congestion in two ways instead of just one.

Thing is traffic isn't decreased, people still smoke and drink, but the state gets richer; much like parking tickets.

Screw tax increases to pay for free transit, how about better govt spending and accountability?

Also, whtat you're saying is much like saying 'I don't want to pay more for taxes for schools, I don't have any kids.' Well, I live in an apartment and I don't want to pay for your sidewalks, the painting of crosswalks in your neighborhood or for the gas it costs for the garbage company to drive to your house and your neighbor's house to pick up your trash when one stop at my house takes away 50 families garbage.

 

[mr_dove]

obviously everyone is not going to stop smoking, drinking and driving. If they did that, the tax would be unproductive.

The main point of this kind tax/subsidy relationship is to reward (perceived) good behavior and punish (perceived) bad behavior. That's why they are called "sin taxes", because they are bad.

government accountability is interesting but not the topic of this thread.

I don't see how a tax on gas relates to your analogies. It's just like the taxes on alcohol and cigarettes. You only pay the tax if you use the product. They are not analogous to other kinds of taxes that you pay regardless of your situation.

 

[RhinofromWA]

Originally posted by mr_dove
I don't see how a tax on gas relates to your analogies. It's just like the taxes on alcohol and cigarettes. You only pay the tax if you use the product. They are not analogous to other kinds of taxes that you pay regardless of your situation.

Well raise the price of tax via taxes to fund public transportation. The ones that take the priviliage of driving themselves around pay for their "sin" The taxes makes the buses more attractive to commuters so they ride the bus instead of driving themselves. Gas income drops but fees paid to ride the bus increases.

Theoretically win-win for the transit authority as increases use of buses, means $$$ that can be spent on other things instead of subsidizing bus fares. If you chose to drive yourself in you pay for your "sin" it is the same as smokers and alcohal tax except the $$$ doesn't always go to a related fund.

A 'sin' is what the socitey deams as being bad....driving yourself to work could easily be considered a sin.

*edit* There are some taxes that are spread over everyone you can't pick and choose. As a society we pool our $$$ to help support services....you can't have specific taxes, etc for every little thing....sometimes accross the board works better.....a lot better.

Mr Dove.....BW I love that avatar.

 

[LoboDelFuego]

Being a dirty red, I like the idea of a free public transportation system, but I don't think it will ever work.
If any of you have ever been to new york, you know what the subway is like. If it were free, it would overflow with people and the cars wouldn't fit through the tubes. Also, people would get really obese if they could take the subway or a bus whenever they wanted. A good comrade needs physical fitness in order to serve his people.
What we need is a communal bike system and bike lanes in every city.

 

[Silver]

Originally posted by LoboDelFuego
Being a dirty red, I like the idea of a free public transportation system, but I don't think it will ever work.
If any of you have ever been to new york, you know what the subway is like. If it were free, it would overflow with people and the cars wouldn't fit through the tubes. Also, people would get really obese if they could take the subway or a bus whenever they wanted. A good comrade needs physical fitness in order to serve his people.
What we need is a communal bike system and bike lanes in every city.

Not many people have the stones to bike in the winter in Northern Cities. It can be done, I know, but there aren't too many people willing to do it.

 

[laura]

Originally posted by Heidi
Ummm, I need to back up. I'd just be happy if we really HAD public transportation here that worked.

for real. in memphis, on the weekends, busses run like once every 45 min.

 

[valve bouncer]

Politicaians don't use public transport. If they did you could be sure that it would be widespread, remarkably efficient, cheap and convenient, all the things it should be already.

 

[Jr_Bullit]

One nice thing about the PNW is so long as you're "registered" as a college student and are willing to shell out $32 every three months all public transportation is "free" - well depending on how much you use your public transportation...but it also applies to discounts on foodage/books/recreational activities and so on .

I like being a student!

 

[Deyv]

Originally posted by mr_dove
I don't support across the board tax increases to pay for stuff like this. I think taxes should be applies to certain things in order to pay for services that are related to them.

i.e. need money for health care, raise taxes on cigarettes and alchohol.

So, in keeping with that idea, gasoline taxes should be raised substantially in order to provide lots more money for public transportation. It's kinda a kill two birds with one stone kinda thing. You reduce traffic congestion in two ways instead of just one.

Welcome to Canada.

You should see any many smokers/drivers bitch about it thought.

We have descent public transport in Montreal but we are lacking some trains transport from the suburbs but overall we are pretty good.

 

[johnbryanpeters]

I voted free, and think it ought to come out of gas taxes, but even if our public transportation was free, I spend an hour and a half a day commuting; with existing systems (bus), I'd have to spend an hour driving getting to and from the bus, then another 1.5 hours round trip on the bus, plus maybe a half hour walking.

How about a three hour work day, or better yet, some serious work on designing public transportation systems that actually work? It's ten minutes from my house to the railroad tracks at New Haven Junction, it'd be half an hour from there to Burlington, and I'd be willing to bike from there to Colchester and back, maybe seven miles each way.

J