The future has arrived – public transportation will now cost way more than driving a car.

Do you live in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, or Delaware? Then you already know public transit behemoth Septa has a $200 million deficit it can’t cover. How could this happen?

The link below is to WHYY, Philadelphia’s public radio station (state affiliated media). They want to blame the Biden administration for this fiasco. The US government is still passing out covid 19 money like it’s 2020. Yeah . . . this caught me off guard too. In any case, for 5 years Philadelphia’s public transit system has been living off taxpayer covid money from the OTHER 49 states. And now that Covid money is going away. Septa is broke.

Speaking now to WHYY - first off this is NOT a Biden created problem. Uncle Joe slept through the entire last 2 years of his presidency. If you want to blame anyone, it would be those anonymous west wing kids ruling in his name. THEY are the ones who kept passing out covid money like candy, even after media reports documented somewhere between $800 million and $2 billion in covid grant fraud. Continuing one party rule depended on single issues voters like those who worship subsidized planes, trains, and automobiles.

Septa's grant money is NOT fraud, but it's reckless and stupid. The money started when businesses were in lockdown, and half of Philadelphia was working from home, and the money WASN’T needed. Septa could have just pared back service then. Those subsidies continue today because the officials running Septa are morons, and thought free money would last forever.

Septa theorizes that it will need to hike fares 20% PLUS eliminate 20% of train and bus routes to balance its budget. By cutting 20% of routes, that means up to 20% of the system’s 700,000 monthly strap hangers will be hopping back into their cars. But there’s not enough highway bandwidth or parking capacity to meet their needs. WFH, anyone?

WHYY has a different idea – keep the covid 19 subsidies in place forever. Keep increasing the structural deficits of commuter bus and rail. Pretend trains and buses are like EVs . . .and that we have to continue subsidizing stuff that is insanely expensive.

Since public radio station WHYY is recipient of free government money itself, it has no hope of understanding that if you subsidize something you increase demand, and it becomes a never-ending, vicious circle. It becomes a dependency, like alcoholism or fentanyl addiction.

To inoculate this post against people who are now going to rant "what about this or that government program . . . ?", let me point out that in past columns I indeed HAVE said that we should stop subsidizing banks with bailouts; stop propping up Detroit with EV subsidies; stop growing those strategic stockpiles of everything from peanut butter to helium, stop spending $700 on an air force hammer. If things are too expensive, some people who can’t afford a subsidized EV or lounging in the Club Car on Septa express commuter trains will have to figure something out. It’s simply wrong to expect taxpayers earning less than average to subsidize the lifestyles of those with far higher incomes.

I’m just sayin’ . . .

Penn Medicine CEO worries about SEPTA service cuts - WHYY

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exchrist · 31-35

I did not read all of your post dont have time.
Mismangement of resources is a common problem in older cities. In pennsylvania Im aware of public funding cuts year over year prior to covid 19. It likely got more noticable during and now "after". Republican president (politicains) cut infrastructure and domestic services. But spends more on military aid and funding.
Thats how it works.
Welcome to America.

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exchrist · 31-35

@dale74 i agree i noticed that too in upstate new york where i am buses generally start pickup at 645am some are 615am last drop off 915pm some are 955pm. Its not perfect but that covers 90+ % of people? Also its possible to arrange individual pickups outside of those hours, but im not sure how that works. Weekends it drops to half as many routes(buses) and on sunday only 830am to 430pm.

dale74 · M

@exchrist say it covers 90% of people the only people that covers are people that work 85 Monday through Friday. People that work at factories for. Back for Jokers are 7 to 3 3 to 11 11 to 7 same with convenient source the majority of the workers at department stores grocery stores all work shift work. The only people public transit code is pretty much 8:00 to 5:00 Monday through Friday most people working eight to five Monday through Friday who's automobiles they have a full time steady job. People that work at restaurants having to be there at 6:00 in the morning I'll be there till 11:00 or midnight they're the ones that are struggling at minimum wage working 20 to 35 hours a week who cannot afford a car.

exchrist · 31-35

@dale74 the system needs work obviously we agree there. In general a group of people(workers\students, etc.) Can request accommodation for additional pickups in the area i live. I know its been done. Probably a minimum number of people.
That being said the design of society is automobile ownership. Maybe rideshare and bicycle are the primary other options.

SunshineGirl · 36-40, F

But there’s not enough highway bandwidth or parking capacity to meet their needs.

And that in a nutshell is why subsidy is used to fund public goods such as mass transportation. Some of the money may go towards commuter trains that only the wealthy can afford to use, but most bus users are low paid workers who are performing a public service by not congesting the roads further with private vehicles.

FloorGenAdm · 51-55, M

Maybe that's why they took out our two-lane road and painted a bicycle lane.

SusanInFlorida · 31-35, F

@FloorGenAdm i have nothing against bicycles. but perhaps they should be registered and taxed, and the revenue from those things used to pay for bike lanes? right now they get a free ride from car owners.

InstructHer · 61-69, M

@SusanInFlorida almost all cyclists are car owners. On your logic you would tax pedestrians for using the pavement.

SusanInFlorida · 31-35, F

@InstructHer i would charge a toll if pedestrians demanded a separate pedestrian bridge over the Hudson River, alongside the GW bridge. The GW toll is around $25 these days.

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SusanInFlorida · 31-35, F

@beckyromero every software project i ever worked on (as a team facilitator, not coder) came in over budget and past the deadline. there has to be a reason for this.

beckyromero · 36-40, FVIP

@SusanInFlorida

Contractors often will bid low and with an unrealistic deadline to get the contract. Then the cost overuns come in later, along with the delays.

It doesn't matter whether it's the company you hired to add on a room at your house or whether it's the contract to build the Ford-class nuclear-power aircraft carriers.

Such things have been happening long before "work from home" became a common.

SusanInFlorida · 31-35, F

@beckyromero a couple of years ago a road contractor in Pennsylvania was seriously past due on a repaving project. It was supposed to be completed before the start of the school year in late august. It was running into october at that point.

the contractor said that there had been "rain delays". the local newspaper pointed out that there had been several months of drought conditions.

there was no performance requirement or penalty clause for late completion. the contractor was diverting resources to other jobs instead of the county road contract.

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