cross-posted from: https://aussie.zone/post/31075060
Perhaps the one silver lining to US imperialism, is that more people will want better public transport
cross-posted from: https://aussie.zone/post/31075060
Perhaps the one silver lining to US imperialism, is that more people will want better public transport
6 Comments
CompactFlax@discuss.tchncs.de · 29 pts · 168d
Subsidizing cars by making transit free because cars suddenly got expensive is the most ass backwards way to get people out of cars and it might just work.
(Subsidizing cars because transit riders have been pay in for the transit fares forever but now that car owners can’t afford their cars, it’s ok to make it free.) Transit should be free.
No_Maines_Land@lemmy.ca · 14 pts · 168d
Yes.
There is some nuance to this. Transit SHOULD be free, but it takes extremely strong political will to improve transit (add more funding) once it has been made free.
Example: X transit is 50% government funded and 50% fare funded.
Government decides to make if free, 100% government funded. Great!
Or government decides to increase funding to 100%, but fares remain. Now there is a 150% budget to improve the transit.
silly_crotch@sh.itjust.works · 9 pts · 167d
Yesthat's what scares me about the free transit idea. If you remove fares but also don't increase funding you're just defunding transit.
grue@lemmy.world · 20 pts · 168d
Now that's how you do it!
SomeWeeb@lemmy.world · 15 pts · 168d
And in Tasmania now as well
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-03-29/free-public-transport-tasmania-until-july-to-counter-fuel-costs/106508198
Gobbel2000@programming.dev · 3 pts · 167d
Yes, that is the proper reaction. Much better than cutting taxes on petrol and effectively subsidizing people burning fossil fuels, which Poland is planning to do.