Sunday, April 3, 2011

Free public transit. How would it work?

First, it already works. Click for list of locations.

You can implement free transit locally for about 60 basis points of tax. You will receive immediate return on this modest investment. Less traffic, fewer parking problems, main-street business unblocked, lower medical costs, lower auto-insurance rates, less money needed for roads, less drainage problems, savings on gasoline, less cars per family... and many more money-saving benefits. See Externalities.

But what is the larger plan?

When a certain critical mass of small towns adopt free transit, larger cities will catch on. Suddenly they will discover that un-gridlocking is a competitive advantage. This will be the tipping point. When the auto loses its critical mass its massive subsidies will be seen as a burden. If this leads to the end of the wasteful autosprawl system, there will be hope that we have not poisoned our planet beyond repair.