"David Fairthorne" wrote in message
...

It seems to be widely accepted that public transport must be subsidised,
but
subsidies modify peoples' behaviour, and in this example, and many others,
the consequences are not altogether desirable.


Perhaps unsurprisingly, I disagree with this completely.

Like public education and the military, public transport is an important
form of social overhead capital. Many people may not benefit from the
subsidies directly. But if rail travel was priced at cost, then commuting
would for many become impossible. Cities would become overcrowded both with
traffic and people needing to live closer to their jobs, and wider economic
growth would probably be impaired. While it's possible to debate the amount
of public funding required for transport, I'm personally happy to pay a
little out of my taxes to ensure we can all get about.

Jonn