RANT: Why do drivers have to pay for everything?

[oboeguy]

Originally posted by: darkxshade
I've been to other transit systems and they are nothing like this. Like in Hong Kong, each station would have a timer telling you an estimated arrival of the next train which is usually just 5 minutes apart at most. People don't get all crazy when they miss a train, they know another one is not far behind. Plus the fare is more fair You pay for the distance you travel and at most it comes out to like $4USD to travel the full distance from one end to the other. It works wonders since people are more inclined to take the transit system for short distances.

Something tells me that the metro in HK isn't over 100 years old. No surprise that it's more modern! The MTA is in the early stages of going to an electronic switching system which would allow that sort of thing. When I take the subway to work (i.e. days I don't ride the bike) I'm on the "L" line, which is the guinea pig for the new system. It works really well. It's nice to know how long until he next train arrives.

 

[PingSpike]

Originally posted by: Zee
you know another Bullshit? out in long island, Long Island Power (LIPA) had to raise rates because power was expensive. So people were cutting back and conserving.

Now lipa is raising rates again and you want to know why?

Because not enough people were using power.

::black trenchcoat mode::

Yeah, Burlington Electric said the same thing up here. I don't even live in Burlington and I was going apeshit.

 

[Jschmuck2]

Originally posted by: amdhunter

Originally posted by: Sasiki
1. Move from New York.
2. Save $8.
3. Profit.

Honestly, if it weren't such a tough job market...I would. I don't want to relocate with the little money that I have.

Sounds to me like you're not grabbing onto those bootstraps hard enough!

 

[mugs]

Public transit, aside from being more efficient, reduces traffic. Imagine the traffic without public transit. Making people pay more for public transit would increase traffic. Do you want that?

They make drivers pay because drivers are who really benefit from public transit, because you get gridlock-free streets to drive on.

 

[bobdole369]

Same reason you pay for parking. It's because the city doesn't want you to do it. Charge for a limited commodity, and the demand goes down, while generating profit. If traffic is that commodity - well you get less drivers AND you get money for your trains.

 

[rh71]

They are raising MTA prices and LIRR prices too ya know. Even without that, my wife already pays $211/mo for LIRR (I also have to drive her to the station) and $2 X 2 times/day X 20 business days a month for the subway to get to work every morning. That's $291/mo. for those keeping score. How much would it cost to drive a car into the city for a month? If you're not counting parking fees (which would be an apples to apples comparison just for travel), then it looks like these commuters are paying more than the drivers.

$2.25 per gallon x 2 gallons (~40 mi. into the city) x 2 times for a day x 20 business days = $180 for driving a month... that's just a smidge over half of what those public transit ppl are paying. Your insurance costs sure wouldn't add up to it either.

 

[Veramocor]

By people taking public transportation they are subsidizing you!

More people in public transportation means less people on the road. Take everone in public transportation and let them take the car in NYC. I can't imagine what a cluster fuck that would be.

Also since when do roads not cost money, that all tax payer pay?

Originally posted by: amdhunter
/rant on

NYC Transit is looking for ways to keep costs down for people who take public transportation.

Almost every way they want to make money is to tax drivers. They want to add a toll to go to Manhattan ($8) and add surcharges to drivers registrations, inspections...etc.

How about this? Make the people who ACTUALLY TAKE THE BUS/TRAINS pay more for their rides. It's bullshit that I already pay a ton of registration fees, insurance and gasoline taxes, so that people who don't have cars can benefit.

Make them pay $5 a ride. It's not a whole lot of money. Gas costs even more than that $5 in the long run, and people still manage to make a living. And that's not even including insurance or car payments...

If drivers can get by, public transportation users should be able to get by also.

Seriously, the reason I have a car is so that I don't have to stand next to some jackass on a crowded ass train, and I am being punished because of this. And I love the excuse that its all "enviornmentally friendly." Man, the enviornment has been here for at least 4000 years, and it isn't going anywhere. I am tired of hearing that treehugger shit.

Seriously, it needs to stop.

/rant off

Cliffs
- NY'ers who take public transportation should pay more if they want more, not depend on people who have cars.

 

[rh71]

Originally posted by: Zee
you know another Bullshit? out in long island, Long Island Power (LIPA) had to raise rates because power was expensive. So people were cutting back and conserving.

Now lipa is raising rates again and you want to know why?

Because not enough people were using power.

::black trenchcoat mode::

are you sure about this? I just checked my bills:

July $.0868/kwh
Aug/Sept/Oct $.0975/kwh
Nov $.0878

Looks like they're going back down.

 

[Knight7]

I work for a contracting company for Time Warner Cable, we have at least 150 trucks that cover the NYC from top to bottom, at 8 dollars a truck im sure that soon enough im going to be on the unemployment line. most of the people who drive to the city are actually providing the dumbasses that live there with some type of service meaning that every small company will definally have big issues, also the people that do drive to the city are mostly rich that wont care about paying the fees, so that wont make a difference. people that come from NJ, and other places park outside the city and take the train or bus, beacuse really who can afford to pay for a parking lot in the city, monthly spots go from 500-1000 a month depending where, and a full day goes way pass 40 dollars. this whole scam not gonna make the city less of a traffic jam, its gonna make a lot of people unemployed. and residents pissed off when they see that every single service they get will go up in price when they already complain about it being high.

 

[Zee]

Originally posted by: rh71

Originally posted by: Zee
you know another Bullshit? out in long island, Long Island Power (LIPA) had to raise rates because power was expensive. So people were cutting back and conserving.

Now lipa is raising rates again and you want to know why?

Because not enough people were using power.

::black trenchcoat mode::

are you sure about this? I just checked my bills:

July $.0868/kwh
Aug/Sept/Oct $.0975/kwh
Nov $.0878

Looks like they're going back down.

it hasnt passed yet.

google news LIPA.

"After learning that the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) proposed a 4.8 percent rate increase as part of its 2009 budget proposal, ratepayers are justifiably wondering why they are facing yet another rate increase when energy costs have been continually falling over the past several weeks and they have reduced their own usage."

 

[Fayd]

Originally posted by: Jeff7

Originally posted by: amdhunter
Seriously, the reason I have a car is so that I don't have to stand next to some jackass on a crowded ass train, and I am being punished because of this. And I love the excuse that its all "enviornmentally friendly." Man, the enviornment has been here for at least 4000 years, and it isn't going anywhere. I am tired of hearing that treehugger shit.

Heh, yeah, at least 4000 years.
Try 13 billion or so; Earth for 4.6 billion.

Also, the issue of course isn't really that we save the environment for its sake, but for ours. We live in it, and if we screw it up, we're just screwing ourselves.

personally, i would have said over 9000.

 

[harobikes333]

Originally posted by: amdhunter

Originally posted by: Sasiki
1. Move from New York.
2. Save $8.
3. Profit.

Honestly, if it weren't such a tough job market...I would. I don't want to relocate with the little money that I have.

North Dakota has a TON of jobs.

go take a look at their jobsnd.com website. No joke.

With little to no experience you can be making 50-60K a year or more depending on what you're doing. (oilfield stuff)

 

[Argo]

It's called using Taxes as a means to inforce certain behavior. Essentially you make gas/cars more expensive via taxes to force people to use public transportation. This could be to achieve a number of goals - to ease traffic or to help the environment, or maybe to keep the subway system afloat (knowing that if it goes under it'll cost taxpayers way more money).

Personally, I have no problem with this approach - as long as people have a choice (move to jersey, use public transit, or just pay the higher rates). Personally, I find this practive a lot better to achieve the ultmate goal - as opposed to some of the other examples I heard earlier. Like China only allowing people with certain plate numbers (odd vs even) to drive on certain days. Or some middle eastern countries stopping issueing licenses to blue color workers (yes, you heard this right).

 

[Taejin]

Originally posted by: geno

Originally posted by: amdhunter
/rant on
Man, the enviornment has been here for at least 4000 years, and it isn't going anywhere.

wtf?


/rant on
/logic off?

he's a nutjob. lulz.

 

[ChaoZ]

If people get charged more for public transportation, they'll just switch/switch back to cars and cause more traffic congestion. Either way you lose.