Anti Public Transit article....

[kettal]

The benefit of outsourcing operations is that the contract can say , the company only gets paid when the bus runs on time. That way, the company will do everything they can to have the bus arrive on time. With the TTC right now, nobody really cares if they're late.

 

[pilinha]

Hi troll.

Being pro-transit does not mean you are anti-car. Being pro-bike does not mean you are anti-car. I call myself pro-choice, that means people should have a choice. But apparently, unless you think Car should be the only choice, you are anti-car.



That's exactly what I think about when I look out the GO train's window as we pass all the cars stuck in gridlock traffic. Convenience and freedom.

Why do you call him 'troll'?

 

[SlickFranky]

Not related to PPPs specifically, but generally for operating transit routes competitive tendering reduces the price... I've seen several case studies of around 20%-30% cost reduction along with improved service. Wendell Cox claims that London saw around a 50% reduction in costs adjusted for inflation, while service increased 32%. I've seen other London numbers showing a 20% increase in mileage and 40% decrease in cost per mile .. passenger journeys in London increased while in the rest of the UK (which was deregulated) they decreased. I'm not sure why beyond the usual government/monopoly = inefficient/bloated etc answer.

So privatizing route operations has been shown to be successful in certain cases. I still don't see that as a reason to privatize. I see that as a model operational system we should be studying and, in part, emulating. We should be learning where and how they are saving money and increasing service quality.

I still suspect driver wages are a major factor. Guaranteed that's the first cost saving measure a private operator would take, and if that is the case we're still avoiding the actual issue. I don't think we should be privatizing just to avoid the union.

Now that I think about it...who is the real monopoly here? TTC or ATU?

 

[SlickFranky]

Why do you call him 'troll'?

troll
1a. Noun
One who posts a deliberately provocative message to a newsgroup or message board with the intention of causing maximum disruption and argument.

It's a borderline case, but not totally unjustified.