Submitted by bob, Sep 26, 2007 23:00

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?

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