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Reader comment on:
Sell the Subways

Submitted by I Don't Want To Hear It, Aug 9, 2007 10:28

You know ConEd is a private company! They are still a monopoly. Even if there are competitive generators of power there is only one distributor, hence the distributor is a monopoly anyhow. So what was the solution to the Blackout of 2004, or the recent steam pipe explosion, or even the massive Astoria blackout from last year?

This is exactly the same as the MTA's monopoly. For practical reasons, utility companies are natural monopolies because you can not have many infrastructures on top of one another. This is perhaps even more true of Subway tunnels. There can not be any competition on the infrastructure even if there are several operators, and thus privatization would not correct the type of problems questioned in the article.

Instead of radically impractical changes I would question the culture of the MTA as a whole. All you have to do is look at the condition of the stations. Go ahead try and find a station as disgusting as 59th street in London Paris or Washington! Oh and when they decide to do their skin coat renovations on a single station it takes YEARS! The reason is obvious when you see MTA workers strolling around the stations like they have nothing to do. There doesn't seem to be any urgency in the MTA workforce and management isn't doing anything about it!! MTA workers are routinely and obnoxiously rude and unprofessional!! Moreover, why are we waiting for someone to die of a heat stroke before they START installing some ventilation.

The problem is not money either!! Come on MTA lets see some action. Come on Bloomberg / Spitzer do to the MTA what you are doing to the schools!! We've come a long way as a city over the last few years and it would be nice if the MTA got with the program.

Sincerely,

I Don't Want To Hear It (from Brooklyn)

Note: Comments are screened, and in some cases edited, before posting. We reserve the right to reject anything we find objectionable.

Other reader comments on this article

Comment By Date

They should at least privatize one station, that doesn't get much traffic, just to test it out. Maybe one in... [MORE]

bruce

Aug 25, 2008 13:40

A couple of quick points to be kept in mind: A comment mentioned that private operators could "probably make a fortune,... [MORE]

Will

Aug 10, 2007 16:51

The free market doesn't fix everything. How many manufacturing jobs have left the US? Elected competent leadership will go a... [MORE]

sid

Aug 9, 2007 23:04

When I lived in England (1966-73), I was a member of the Railway Conversion League (convert to roads) but we... [MORE]

Lionel Albert

Aug 9, 2007 14:37

I'm curious to hear reactions on the following idea because I have no idea if it would work. My premise is... [MORE]

Mike

Aug 9, 2007 12:07

It's no surprise that things below grade on an island are susceptible to flooding; ask Con Ed or WTC engineers.... [MORE]

OCULUS

Aug 9, 2007 11:36

The point is Richard Branson would have fixed the problem a long time ago by getting the Army Corp of... [MORE]

Bryan

Aug 9, 2007 13:35

On top of all the mismanagement that this city and state performs, the geniuses in Albany and City Hall want... [MORE]

W. H. Injeian

Aug 9, 2007 10:30

You know ConEd is a private company! They are still a monopoly. Even if there are competitive generators of power...

I Don't Want To Hear It

Aug 9, 2007 10:28

Everything the government does sucks. Where do we wait in long lines? The Post Office, the Dept. of Motor Vehicles,... [MORE]

The Stank

Aug 9, 2007 08:45

Converting the NYC mass transit system into a for profit network will not produce an effective system that is affordable... [MORE]

Steve

Aug 9, 2007 07:26

If anyone doubts the wisdom of your position, let him or her take a vacation in Hong Kong, and see... [MORE]

John Spencer Yantiss

Aug 9, 2007 07:02

The subways started out as private enterprise. They should be returned to private enterprise. [MORE]

James

Aug 9, 2007 09:48

All, Just a quick point: the operation of the subways started out as a private enterprise. However, they were constructed with... [MORE]

Will

Aug 9, 2007 11:19

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