I'm questioning if it really should be profitable. A lot of people I talk to are still saying that they would take the train, if it wouldn't be just so damn expensive. But the high prices feel more and more like a way to control the overcrowding issues than as a fair (or competitive compared to the car) price for transportation.
this post was submitted on 04 Sep 2023
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Exactly this
Ok it’s not bad news that it is profitable but it shouldn’t.
Public transportation is a service and it shouldn’t be profitable by itself. Same with hospitals and so many other institutions.
Eliminate unnecessary costs when possible but aim to provide a service first and foremost and even make it cheaper. I’d gladly pay more taxes to subsidize this. It’s also partly why I just pay for the half fare every year even though I’m not really sure if it pays off. Either I do and it’s a win win or I don’t and it’s not a big difference I’m sure.
I think it would make more sense to include the saved CO2 emissions in monetary value in their earnings, that way the real profitability can be calculated as you say