The Power of Free Public Transit

[@oldreprobate2748]

Public transportation is a corporate interest as it supplies access to labor and labors consumption of corporate products. Unfortunately, corporate America doesn't want to pickup their responsibility in the maintenance of public transportation. This goes hand-in-hand with the maintenance of our roads, bridges, and railways that corporate production and profits primarily relies on.

[@danielhutchinson6604]

The last 20 years have seen the gradual erosion of Profits. The Outside World no longer is forced to deliver Tribute Payments to the USA. That is what will be revealed next Month at the BRICS Summit.

[@NxInfinite]

Now, if only there was a bunch of entities that made a whole lot of profit for Corporate America to tax in order to sustain transportation.

[@danielhutchinson6604]

@@NxInfinite If Profits are your desire, then transportation Industry investment looks like it is showing bad signs.

[@azmainyousuf5172]

Trains (subways) has to be the best type of public transportation. We need to maximize that!

[@NxInfinite]

This is an important topic. I would love to hear conversations about transportation as much as there are about housing and food insecurity.

[@shv90210]

Jamaica needs to understand and do this.

[@WestTown97]

minimum wage in king county is $20.29. 80% of federal poverty line is $12,048 a year. therefore, to qualify for a subsidized orca card (free bus pass) you can only work 593 hours of a minimum wage job per year. a full time employee works 2,080 hours a year. it’s really hard for working poor people to qualify for these programs

[@Chav-j2z]

Consider this, give free bus travel to people who don't have a driving licence?

[@matthewbaynham6286]

This guy should look at Germany, in the middle of pandemic the government introduced the 9 Euro ticket where for 9 Euros per month you could use any public transport except the ICE trains. The 9 Euro ticket only lasted a few months and then after the pandemic they raised the price to 49 euros per month. But also a lot of people will also get a travel pass connected to their job.

[@alexanderclaylavin]

The feds, state and local authorities should split the cost for free public transit at the local and regional levels. Transportation precarity is a major part of economic precarity for a lot of people.

[@spiritofmatter1881]

Love this thinking. Money is energy - free energy, freedom of movement = access to choice

[@oldreprobate2748]

I think it imparative that American labor come to acknthat the United States is not a democracy but rather an oligarchy that is in control of the two party corporate duopoly system of government we all live under. Religion, race, and ethnicity are being used to divide labor against each other for the purpose of controlling the mass population against taking control of the country as the majority rule. Good government has but one first and only object of governance; the care and happiness of all humans, nothing more, nothing less. We American Labor represents 98-plus percent of the US population. We also, under a democracy represent 98-plus percent of all eligible voters. There is absolutely no excuse for not coming together in bringing our necessity to the government under our control. The pettiness produced by corporate fraud will not only not provide for our overriding needs but will continue to reduce our ability to retain freedom and economic growth. Just as labor unions support the will of employees over corporate transgressions, so will the unity within 98-plus percent voting block protect our daily interest within our government bodies. Neither political party of the two party corporate duopoly system has or will relent to the will of the majority without demand by the majority. Having that majority means dropping the BS that has us looking at each other as our personal enemy when the reality is that we are all in the same lifeboat attempting to convince a billionaire yacht owner to take us aboard before we die at sea. What my and your age, skin color, ethnicity, religious beliefs, gender are they have zero effect on anyone's ability to survive in a democratic society. When everyone is cared for, happiness reigns supreme. Know that it is not the power of us who ultimately subjugated the American working class over the last 64 years. It's the mandate for corporate domination over our democracy as set forth in the Lewis Powell Memo that has done that. Our divisiveness over that period of time has been induced by the corporate gonlamorated media telling us that them and they amongst us are the cause of our dismay. The real boogeymen; enemies within, are the corporate ownership in alliance against labor to increase their profit share of our nations wealth. Take ten minutes to reflect on what you just read, then read it again. Who is the real enemy of your well-being? American Labor has been and continues to be in an economic war against the US oligarchy who's money has bought our good cop/bad cop two party system of government. It's time to reduce their forces within the system by reducing the power of the system to the side of the system that proportion itself as the good cop. Yes, the corporate democrats are bought too, but they are the most manageable for Labor. The first law of war is to know your enemies as well or better than your friends. With the surge of Progressives willing to establish term limits we can rid ourselves of corporate domination within the governing body, and essentially create a political party that represents we the majority of the population. We can no longer be party aligned lemmings jumping off the cliff to our deaths while backing a system that works against us. There's always the fear talk within the current system of shutting down the government over their party interest. US Labor being the primary source of production and consumption can be the arbitrary force that power when the government fails public interest. Just as labor strikes puts great pressure on corporations, so can it put pressure on the United States GDP as a bargaining tool. Nothing flows through the country that American labor doesn't have a cause and effect on, even the production of future labor through childbirth. Well, if you will, that's the Civics class for today.

[@einerus]

So basically you want to replace democratic duopoly with monopoly of „98” and obviously someone will have to speak and represent for that. Sounds like a replay of communism.

[@reapop-u3n]

Excellent video thank you!

[@57stapler]

I'm a little surprised as to how shallow this presentation is given that time was spent with King County Transit. King County has a history with trying to implement free transit that has not been without "bumps". 11 minutes is not a lot of time to cover how free transit can be paid for, solid benefits even non-transit participants can realize, or new ways to take security seriously. Seattle is maybe unique in that they can find monies to support such a thing. Many U.S. cities are surrounded by suburbs which can be far less than supportive of public transit. Seattle is probably the best place to have this discussion as they have been in front of most places in the U.S regards all things public transit -in ways that might be scalable for much of the smaller cities in the U.S. FYI, people smoking fentanyl on Seattle public transit has been a very public issue for some time now.

[@BOZ_11]

That's not a transportation issue, it's a cultural one. No fentanyl epidemic in Britain, Italy, Japan, China, etc

[@JacobMueller]

There is a link to two papers, a study, and more info on his work. 11m is the teaser to get you interested, the links are there for you to dive in.

[@Will140f]

Why is that any different from someone using drugs in a public library or public park? How does transit make it worse?

[@katherandefy]

Has nothing to do with transit. Not one thing. 😏 I mean really. So sit in personal passenger vehicles and bet you the same nonsense takes place in the house or the car or school or wherever. It’s portable. Having transit does not mean being inundated with stuff you don’t want. Unless you don’t want transit. Ok then yeh. If you just don’t want transit. Noted. Ok. But not everybody needs to be led by anti transit zeal.

[@hairypotter259]

we have to stop subsidizing cars first

[@me12722]

As a transit rider I worry that if it were free the bus would become a homeless shelter. Perhaps even if it were free you'd still need some mechanism to serve as a pass that is associated with an individual. That being said mass transit is a big deal and it will only become a bigger deal as the 21st century trudges along.

[@moestietabarnak]

Geez, free transit DOES NOT mean free shelter, the drivers would just prevent it, just like it currently prevent people not paying. Now, the homeless would still need transit to find a job, a SHELTER, etc .. why would you stop THEM ?

[@me12722]

@@moestietabarnak drivers don’t prevent it now and it’s not always safe for them to do so. Plus it disrupts the time between stops. Also the homeless people I’ve seen get on the bus were pretty far from being able to land an interview. Homelessness is a complex problem and it shouldn’t fall on transit to fix it.

[@Wakkowolf]

It wouldn't become a homeless shelter. No matter how expensive transit is, homeless will make their way in. Constant policing is what would keep them out. They can always raise enough to pay a single fare and hang out indefinitely or sneak in through an emergency exit. What free transit does do is encourage the use for tiny trips, especially buses. That can lead to overcrowding in certain high population areas and lead to slowdown until it's better to out-walk the bus.

[@danielhutchinson6604]

@@me12722 The issue of Homeless Individuals is a major problem for most towns and cities across the USA. We need to face the fact that Capitalism seems to now have failed to support the Majority of the Citizens in America. The idea of containing the Homeless in shelters, long ago proved larger than the economy can afford. We need to consider alternatives to Capitalism.

[@me12722]

@@Wakkowolf I'm not sure that a crowded bus goes any slower than an empty bus. If anything a crowded bus means less road traffic. That being said bus only lanes are fantastic and keep things moving really well.

[@owlyus]

Hopefully he is friends with Mayor Pete

[@emmanuelameyaw9735]

Somtime, new economic thinking is dumb economic thinking. Btw, new does not mean better. Nothing is free, some paid for it.

[@danielcarroll3358]

For example the Interstate Highway System. Now that it has been over a quarter century since the federal gas tax was raised much of its cost is paid by non-drivers.

[@Bob-be2pj]

Maybe this works for very low income but not others. For the most part, buses don't stop where you are nor go to where you need to go. Also, if it is free, the risk of crime is increased.

[@TheGeorgeD13]

Every example of free public transportation in the world squashes your assumptions there easily. None of these things happen.

[@sannh]

The opposite is true. Bus drivers feel safer when it's free.