[extropy-chat] Public Transportation (was suitcase nukes)

[Patrick Wilken]

On 23 Mar 2005, at 16:44, spike wrote:
> Bret, out here in Taxifornia, the average rail train is carrying
> one person, perhaps two.  I do not exaggerate.  Often we will
> see a mile of cars backed up waiting for a commuter train to
> pass with two passengers.

Hey Spike:

I don't know what the average train line is like where you live, but 
when I was living in Pasadena the newly opened Gold line was running a 
brisk business. That surprised me, as the very nature of LA tends to 
overwhelm any possibility of good public transport.

> other purpose.  Roads are a tax trap; they are used only
> to raise taxes for other purposes.  The right way is not
> to raise taxes to fix roads, it is to elect people who
> run on a platform of borrowing from other funds to fix
> roads.  Then if the roads don't improve, throw them out
> and get new politicians.

What about simply privatizing roads and letting the owners collect 
tolls from users?

best, patrick