More evidence that fares are for rationing, not revenue

As it stands right now, most of METRO’s operating funds don’t come from the fares. The transit agency gets most of its money from a one-cent sales tax, which caught the attention of Harris County Precinct 3 Commissioner Steve Radack. 

Radack recently spoke before the METRO board on why the agency should consider free or reduced fares. He said that people are already paying for the transit service through the sales tax and a financial incentive for riding could get more people on board. 

“And so if we just keep going the way we’re going, we’re going to build more freeways, we’re going to continue to do other forms of transportation, but at the end, it makes no sense to have buses only partially full running around,” said Radack.

https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/in-depth/2020/01/06/355569/metro-is-gathering-input-on-whether-to-stop-collecting-fares/? 

Boston Globe supports free public transportation.

Boston Globe supports free public transportation.
https://farefreene.blogspot.com/2020/01/boston-globe-calls-for-freepublictransit.html

Another domino falls -- Intercity transit in Olympia, WA, goes fare-free

kuow.org

As of the New Year, no bus fare is needed to ride the Olympia area's Intercity Transit. On Wednesday, the transit agency became the largest in the Pacific Northwest to eliminate fare collection, leapfrogging Corvallis and Missoula which did so earlier.

Collapse of the #autosprawl system

Households in the US owe over $13 trillion in debt. World-wide official debt is at $255 trillion.

Let's imagine that debt were to be eliminated magically by a few mistaken keystrokes. What would happen. Well a lot of rich and middle-class people would lose money. On the other hand, consumers would suddenly have much more to spend. Governments, with no more debt-service could provide much more social service.

But there is another debt that is not so easily addressed. That is the money sunk into autosprawl. The world has many $trillions invested in cars, highways, roads, suburbs, refineries, tankers, military, and much more, to support the system of autos and sprawl. These are hard assets, which depend on oil, and are not easily replaced. This investment was never sustainable, and now it is collapsing.

People on Twitter reply to the anti-publictransit trolls

Paid trolls have been tweeting articles that pretend to be neutral, but actually repeat lies about free public transportation. People on Twitter are aware and answering back.

Nope, they don't become homeless shelters. Not a "major city" but Chapel Hill-Carrboro NC has had free public transit for many years. It really is just a huge benefit.

— Alan Britt (@alanlbritt) January 1, 2020

The oil paradox, why fight for something you can't sell?

Any oil price now is either too high for consumers or too low for producers. Producers are trying to get other producers to cut back, but no one is willing to sacrifice. But then, you may ask, why the ferocious oil wars and desperate drilling?

When oil was easy-to-drill, there were many years of low price. This affected the whole world economy. Due to expected future growth, debt was incurred to grab future profits in the present. In 2005, world easy-oil production peaked. Every day since then, it has cost more joules to get a joule of oil.

However, paradoxically, due to the profit system, the end of cheap oil, and increased debt-service, there are no more profits. But oil is still the blood of the economy and controlling it means economic power.

Hence, there is a desperate fight over something that cannot be sold.

UN solution for CO2 -- better cars

Zero-emission automobiles, of course, do not and cannot ever exist. 

All automobiles require fuel, and even solar panels, wind turbines, hydro-electric dams, and nuclear power plants produce GHG emissions in their construction and maintenance. The emissions, in these minor examples as well as in the coal and natural gas plants that are the major sources of “EV” power, merely occur at locations other than a tailpipe. But occur they most certainly still do, despite automakers’ labels suggesting otherwise. Shame on the United Nations for missing and obscuring this crucial fact.

https://www.deathbycar.info/gaps-indeed/ 

Deepwater oil/gas projects hit a record 10m boe/d

woodmac.com

Global CO2 emissions growth accelerating, not declining

Global energy-related CO2 emissions grew 1.7% in 2018 to reach a historic high of 33.1 Gt CO2. It was the highest rate of growth since 2013, and 70% higher than the average increase since 2010. Last year's growth of 560 Mt was equivalent to the total emissions from international aviation.

https://www.iea.org/reports/global-energy-and-co2-status-report-2019/emissions? 

Candidates for office responding to demands for fare-free public transport

Public transit should be free.

The fact that it's not is a policy choice. We choose to prioritize cars & spend money cracking down on fare evasion. This worsens carbon emissions & hurts the poor.

Public transit should be free.

— Mckayla Wilkes for Congress (@MeetMckayla) December 26, 2019