Privatizing transit
Steve Austin
(LARy), also known as the "Yellow Cars", with his own money.
Today, more than a century later, the county of Los Angeles is struggling to
build a transit system that is a tiny fraction of that built by Mr.
Huntington.
This is proof positive that private enterprise is far more capable of
running our transit infrastructure.
I propose that California municipalities sell their transit systems to the
highest bidder and use the profit to help pull our great state out of this
depression.
Once in the hands of suitable private enterprises, we shall see growth that
hasn't occurred in nearly a century. In its day, the Red Card System was
over 1,000 miles long. All paid for with private money - no tax money was
spent.
And the fare was only a nickel.
Adjusted for inflation, that's still less than a buck a ride.
The system not only survived, but thrived, raking in lots of money and still
providing service at prices the locals could afford. Nobody needed a car,
the system was spread out from the beaches to the mountains. Everyone was
happy, that is, until the greedy government bastards forced Mr. Huntington
to sell out so the automobile companies, oil companies and tire companies
could expand their business.
In the end, the executives of these companies as well as certain government
officials were found guilty and fined $1.00!
It is we the private citizens that are suffering because of this horrible
injustice!
Only by privatizing transit can we hope to return to the glory days of old.
One additional plus - the sales tax increases for transit can be repealed,
thus saving he average tax payer nearly $500 per year in sales taxes.
Please, take the time to discuss this with your friends, neighbors and
fellow employees. We must start today!
Kymberleigh Richards
Henry Huntington created the rail systems he owned for one reason ...
to ferry potential customers to his land developments. Once he had
made his money, he was shocked to discover that the regulators would
not let him discontinue operations. Nor would they allow him to
charge fares that accurately reflected his cost of operation.
By the time transit service was made a government function, the
service was falling apart, because there wasn't enough money coming in
to properly maintain the private systems.
Today, service is largely subsidized with funds outside of fares. Do
some research and you will find that there isn't a single agency that
recovers more than a third of their costs from fares. You want to
turn it over to private companies? Prepare for a 200% increase in
fares.
The call for "privatization" comes every so often, usually from those
who, like yourself, have a romantic but unrealistic view of the old
days.