Okay, this is idealized, but imagine that municipalities across the country gave up their claim to a monopoly over transit in their cities (that is, buses, trains, subways, etc.). Given that they continue to hold onto the roads and freeways, could private businesses take over these transit systems and make a profit? In other words, could private transit systems come back in this country if governments only gave up their monopolies over it?
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If there's really a demand for it, anything is possible if you get rid of the interference.
There's no "monopoly" on transit. You just can't build anything without council approval. It's called zoning.
Wouldn't it make sense for failing companies like GM, and the airliners and AMTRACK, to combine their investment money (merger probably) and build a privately owned magnetic railcar across the country? The purpose of which could be to lessen the number of cars produced, to lessen the domestic airplanes flying around, and to insure the survival of the failing compaines. It could even use the labor and material resources of all of the previous companies so that Americans still have jobs.
Granted, I can see property problems, but it could be good as a whole.
It would be difficult to build a LIM mag-lev line because of the local residents of every municipality lobbying for injunctions more than acquiring the plots. It would take major kick-backs at least. In my municipality there has been lobbying for quite some time against a new mega-quarry. It's the NIMBY rule.
John James: If there's really a demand for it, anything is possible if you get rid of the interference.
I would think so. Driving is expensive when you pay the cost of the roads and for time of day. Buses and trains I imagine would be cheaper, though slower. It would also work much better if our cities were designed better such that you didn't have to drive to get food or to go shopping. You're basically forced to because of the way that cities have been zoned. I guess I'm just angry about how municipalities have destroyed any rational form for a city because of their designs.
It would also work much better if our cities were designed better such that you didn't have to drive to get food or to go shopping. You're basically forced to because of the way that cities have been zoned.
I could never figure out why zone types are separated like that. In the case of Toronto there are "bedroom communities" scattered for 100km around the towers. I can't see why anyone would be opposed to having condos in an office complex. It seems like stupidity without a cause.
Buses and trains I imagine would be cheaper, though slower.
Mass transit would have less use overall without zoning.
Quick reply.
Several of Japan's subways/trains are privately run or 'private-public' partnerships. If memory serves we had a topic a while ago where someone brought up how the 'private-public' partnerships were subpar to the truly private ones. I'll try to find it. I bring the subject up though because it shows that mass transit can, and is, provided without the state.
In Mexico there are privately run buses everywhere. They are typically just old vans, and people pay 5 pesos to ride them. In the larger cities I hear that there are larger privately run bus fleets as well. Aren't there also privately run bus fleets in the carribean islands?
And what about taxis in the United States? Aren't they private? Heavily regulated, but private nonetheless. (Hopefully) Soon we'll have those nifty google cars running around as well.
The market could provide fantastic mass transit. It's the state that has retarded its growth with their monopolization and regulation.
Aren't there also privately run bus fleets in the carribean islands?
The buses are nominally private in Leicester, England. But, it's not like anyone is allowed to drive a "bus" around. Everything is somehow government controlled. If you stuck some seats in a van and started picking people up like what they do in Mexico the police would be after you for vending without a permit or some such.
It's really amazing to read, how unusual idea of private public transport is for you, americans. I'm from Ukraine, and like almost everything in our country (USSR), public transport was government owned here. There were old ukrainian and hungarian buses, riding on uncomfortable routes with no stops for up to 2,5km (I'm talking here mostly about Lviv, city with 800,000 people, with no subway). But then in late 90's when economy started to wake up and people's frustration with our mass transit exceed that point, wnen their were willing to pay twice more for a ride new service developed: of privately owned small faster buses. First there was turkish-made Peugeots and ukrainian-made Ivecos. Then the government started to intrude, eliminating price competition - so we had to live through few years of awfull Mercedeses. Still development restarted. And before crisis the size of buses increased, and they weren't some old used adapted from trucks buses, but new and pretty comfortable(1, 2). Of course, during that time almost a hundred of new routs came to existance, some old disappeared.
A year ago there were 42 mass transit companies in Lviv. Of course, the quality of service isn't that of american or european kind, but what can you expect from Ukraine (GDP per capita $3600 per year). We could expect different levels of service, but that was made impossible by municipal regulations:
- they imposed stict price regulations (now - $0.25)
- entrance barriers are impossible to pass
- routes was fixed to.
Now before European football championship, bureucrats and cronies didn't miss their chance to continue their intrusion, by changing the routes and, more importantly, decreasing the number of companies: from 42 to 4 (2 of them - government owned). Because "We are heading to Europe!".
So market of public transport is not only possible, but is also very easy to develope. Of course, we have to consider that gasoline prces are higher in Ukraine than in US and wages are much lower, so it's very expensive to take a cab or use own car, but still: if big buses will not be effective, small will be.