[PRCo] Re: Rumors

[Fred Schneider]

One might expect the California deficit to be in the billions for another reason
... they have 2.2 times more people than Pennsylvania.

I had an argumentative lady on a car at Arden several weeks ago who thought the
$5.00 museum admission to be outrageous.  She told me that PAT only charged a
dollar, ten for a ride.  Maybe she said a dollar fifty.  I decided to have a
little fun.  Told her that she had to be wrong, that PAT's fare was over five
dollars.  She said she rode it every day and she knew how much it cost.  Then I
asked if she considered the amount that she pays every April 15th in her
federal, state, and county taxes, and the state lottery proceeds.  She admitted
she didn't.  I suggested that the average true fare, including taxes, is between
$5 and $7 these days!   Heaven forbid what we would be spending if everybody
wanted to ride transit ... we couldn't afford the subsidy for all those people.
When you are charging 20 cents on the dollar and making it up on volume, there
is no way you can win!  Right John?  Ken?

John Swindler wrote:

> >Ken commented:
> >
> >Not to get further off topic, but didn't some of the best informed and most
> >knowledgeable members of this list once predict that San Jose and Buffalo
> >would be the most likely candidates for abandonment of light rail service
> >during the modern era?  San Jose has already suspended their heritage
> >operations at least once, though it may have been reinstated. Buffalo has
> >lost quite a bit of its traffic base and economic changes in both locales
> >have kept these two systems from reaching their projected ridership.
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