http://www.torontosun.com/Comment/Commentary/2008/04/26/5392481-sun.html

With gas prices the way they are today,it would make it easier for some...... (Provided they didnt builk them)

Do you think that public transportation should be essential and it should be illegal for them to strike?

I'm glad I don't live in Toronto.  I can't remember if it was the TTC or the OTC (Ottawa Transit Commission), but many years ago, one of them went on strike and created all kinds of havoc with disgruntled pedestrians who couldn't get to work

Public transportation in small towns is mostly a waste of taxpayer and federal money. When I worked for JCCT (James City County Transit) some years ago, they figured out it would be cheaper to get every regular rider a 600$ car, fuel and insurance than it would be to run the buses. Proper maintenance on diesels is not cheap. There was only one spare bus, so if one was out for major repairs we couldn't do much maintenance-wise to the other buses.

Diesel fuel is more expensive than gasoline...

Transportation in bigger cities is more economical for the city. There's more riders, higher fares, shorter routes, etc. There's also more people who depend on public transportation.

Transit workers are not union here. Maybe someone who is more familiar with unions can explain to me what real benefits they provide.

Ant

Sometimes I have to ride the bus like everybody else and since gas is the way it is right now, (And I'll explain about it later) I may never get my Drivers License. :\'(

I hear ya my friend :(

I'll put it this way.  I think public transportation will naturally receive alot more support once gas rises high enough.  I'd rather let the market clear that sort of thing, but eventually, I think we'll all agree to more metro systems in the more urban areas.

Rural areas will probably always lack much in the way of public transportation, however.

Why should transport workers (or teachers, etc...) not be allowed to strike?  If they want to strike, more power to them.  We're ot running a slavery state.

Of course I would also support the right of the transit companies to bring in scabs too, if the drivers went on strike.

I have never understoood how some of the most vociferous pro-union people go berserk when they hear about public employees going on strike because it "inconveniences" them.

100% agreed, Lyricboy.

100% agreed, Lyricboy.

Ditto that.

If the era is cheap gas is over...really over...there will be a mass transit rennaissance out of sheer necessity. 

Maybe more people working from home.  If gas hits $4, I will demand to work from home a couple days a week.  Remember, in the 90s, people were saying that in the future everyone was going to be working from home?  Since all you need is a computer and a phone?  I haven't seen much of this YET?  Expensive gas may be the trigger.

If the era is cheap gas is over...really over...there will be a mass transit rennaissance out of sheer necessity. 


Everything old is new again, right? It would help our current situation if market forces were different and automakers hadn't conspired to kill the interurbans/trolley systems after World War II. Maybe, but maybe not. Discuss.

Why should transport workers (or teachers, etc...) not be allowed to strike?  If they want to strike, more power to them.  We're not running a slavery state.



I wouldn't mind the slave wages some of the union workers have these days!  >:( I'm not a class warrior or anti-union, so don't misunderstand me. I work in an industry that's been destroyed by de-regulation since I joined its ranks, and I've somehow survived...but it hasn't been easy. Broadcasting, at least at the levels I've worked is not a "union shop".  I couldn't strike if I wanted to, though it sounds like an appealing idea at times, trust me. The unions that can hold on to their pieces of the pie (and then some) are doing a lot better than some of us that belong to the great, unwashed masses.

Sorry if I come across as bitter, but I'm being honest. I *do* like my work. It's the people at the top of the food chain that make it rough for everyone else. You can relate, right?



 

Everything old is new again, right? It would help our current situation if market forces were different and automakers hadn't conspired to kill the interurbans/trolley systems after World War II. Maybe, but maybe not. Discuss.



Absolutely.  The Interstate highway system is a government program.  The automobile did not come to rule our society by market forces alone. 

http://www.torontosun.com/Comment/Commentary/2008/04/26/5392481-sun.html

With gas prices the way they are today,it would make it easier for some...... (Provided they didnt builk them)

Do you think that public transportation should be essential and it should be illegal for them to strike?

It depends on what part of the country you're in.

In densely populated areas, mass transit works great. In more sparsely populated areas I don't see how it could be feasible. We're just too spread out.

We had a bunch of people over last night and this topic was bought up. In rural Vermont there isn't much in the way of public transportation. I think with gas prices going the way they have been going, more and more people would be willing to use public transportation if it was available.



Cat

We had a bunch of people over last night and this topic was bought up. In rural Vermont there isn't much in the way of public transportation. I think with gas prices going the way they have been going, more and more people would be willing to use public transportation if it was available.



Cat

Huh huh, then move to the city.  Nobody's forcin' you to live up there in the middle o' nowhere! It's a free country, y' know.
:D

Huh huh, then move to the city.  Nobody's forcin' you to live up there in the middle o' nowhere! It's a free country, y' know.
:D


You can trash the president all you want.

I wonder if they had the internet 150 years ago, there would be a lot of anti-Lincoln websites? (It's not that I dislike Lincoln, it's just that Lincoln was heavily criticized.)

Well I don't know if it's essential to everyone, but it sure is handy for me since my car died last night and we don't have the money to get another car or get this one repaired anytime soon.  I can afford bus fare (at least for now anyways)  :D

You can trash the president all you want.

I wonder if they had the internet 150 years ago, there would be a lot of anti-Lincoln websites? (It's not that I dislike Lincoln, it's just that Lincoln was heavily criticized.)

Start a sentence with "I wonder if they had the internet 150 years go..."
Why would the rest of it say, "there would be a lot of anti-Lincln websites"?  Like, why would that be the first thing you think?
???

Oh, and why did you think I was trashing the president just then?
:D

Start a sentence with "I wonder if they had the internet 150 years go..."
Why would the rest of it say, "there would be a lot of anti-Lincln websites"?  Like, why would that be the first thing you think?
???

Oh, and why did you think I was trashing the president just then?
:D


Sorry for the misjudgement...and the way I misused my words.  :(