Not surprising that the author doesn't know subway history. Although privately run they were all built with city money. And the private streetcar companies quickly bought out competitors and merged to dominate the market. The subway companies quickly stopped doing maintenance to raise profits (since the franchise didn't allow fare increases, the prior few decades having been deflationary). No wonder that less than 40 years after the first subway opened both companies were bankrupt and had to be taken over by the city.
No form of transportation has ever survived without government subsidy, going back to all the roads that led to rome (built with madatory labor). But then there are all types of government favors and subsidies affecting most industries - the whole completely free market fantasy the author dreams of has never happened, and it never will. Too many people would be hurt.
And the subway halt wasn't a "light drizzle". It was one of the heaviest rainfalls on record for that amount of time. But why let facts get in the way?
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Not surprising that the author doesn't know subway history. Although privately run they were all built with city money. And...
bob
Sep 26, 2007 23:00
I would be pleased if not only the subways went private, but Metro North as well. We all know how... [MORE]
Dennis Lesko
Sep 26, 2007 12:25
I fear that some comments in this editorial can be all too easily misunderstood and even misinterpreted.
While I have no... [MORE]
Will
Sep 26, 2007 11:05
I find the subway neither filthy nor expensive (compared with the costs of vehicle ownership). And it wasn't a drizzle... [MORE]
Ray
Sep 26, 2007 07:50
I will not dispute that the subways are run awfully, with virtually no late night service, way too many delays,... [MORE]