[PRCo] Re: Pittsburgh - think tank blasts possible new transit taxes

[Jim Holland]

 > Fred Schneider wrote:
.
 > What John is saying, Joshua,
.
 > is that SEPTA, PAT and the other agencies are not
 > being forced to take a hard look at the service they are
 > running and the people who are using the service.
 > It is simply business as usual.
 > Simply politicians providing jobs of bus drivers.
.
I have to admit to not understanding John's initial writing and felt 
similarly to Joshua Except that I Know John Well and there isn't a 
sinister fiber in his person.     Thank You for this clarification above.
.
In Reality, it isn't because the Driver Union is powerful  --  and 
Transit Managers Ain't really interested in getting more bus drivers.
.
The above can thus be restated to say that The Big Thrust of public 
transit is to Get More Money For The Agency whether for more managers, 
staff, planners, maintenance people and Yes, the drivers  --  And By The 
Way, Some Money Might Be Used For Improving Service~!~!~!     The push 
of transit agencies is  _Funding._     Some have said, and very possibly 
here on this list, that the General Manager of transit today must be one 
who knows how to seek out  _Funding_  --  forget about running the 
railway~!~!~!
.
_Fixed__Routing_  --
.  _Rail__Is__Backed__For__This__Reason_  --
.  People know that their transit will be there tomorrow.     The  
*_Cliche_*  of the 1950s forward to replace TrolleyCars with buses  
"""___Because__They__Are__Flexible__In__Routing___"""  was the  Dumbest 
thing I ever Heard Then  (I don't like using language this strong but it 
makes a point~!~!)  because of what Josh said  --  when he rents // buys 
Near Transit he wants to know that it is going to be there 
Tomorrow~!~!~!     The fact that buses are still running essentially the 
same routes is not  *necessarily*  bad and  *_Suggests_*  that transit 
in that corridor is Hauling The Load~!~!~!
.
 > I remember back when Charlie Schauck retired
 > from the Port Authority in the middle 1960s.
 > He was a long time employee of Pittsburgh Railways
 > and a very dedicated man. He retired well before
 > age 65.   I asked him why he was retiring early.
 > His response was simply that quality of staff and
 > service no longer mattered. Now that it was [is]
 > a government agency, the politicians were coming
 > to him and asking him "to provide lineman's jobs
 > to men who couldn't even tie their own shoes."
.
EVERY   Generation has said that they don't know what to make of the Gen 
that is following them  --  These are going to be running the 
Country~?~?     The implication is that the following Gen Ain't as Smart 
Nor Qualified Nor Efficient as the current Gen, etc., etc., etc.     Our 
parents said that about our generation, their parents said it about 
them, and we are saying it about those who follow us  --  we could trace 
this back to the beginning of time  --  And There Are Comments To That 
End Right Here On This List In Noah's ArkIves~!~!~!.     This is a  
_Fad_  statement that I saw through when I was a teenager.     Life is a 
Process of Learning until Death  (and those who aren't learning are 
Walking Dead~!~!)  so the older people are always  (or should always)  
have more knowledge and wisdom than those younger And Be There to Guide 
Them along - Not Push and Not Pull - but to advise and encourage.Very 
Tough Job  --  But Hugely Rewarding.     A Successful Society Values it 
Seniors for the Collection of Wisdom.     I-F each succeeding Gen is 
Dumber than the previous then how is it we went from horseback to 
spaceships in 165-years~?~!~?~!~?      Look What has happened since 
1800  --  virtually everything known to modern man Except For The 
Proverbial Wheel  --  has been invented since 1800~!~!~!
.
That Being Said I do Believe that society as a whole is on a DownHill 
Slide while Technology is Literally Climbing to the Moon and Far 
Beyond.     But this cuts to inter personal relationships and while it 
affects EveryThing in life it is not really germane to Public Transit alone.
.
 >> Bill Robb wrote:
.
 >> The concept of service to all within a community is now
 >> close to be dropped by several places, notably
 >> San Jose and Toronto. Within a decade we will likely
 >> only see service where demand warrants.
.
San Jose and Toronto are Vastly Different Places  --  SJ is Very Low 
Density while T is High Density if not Very High Density.     The 
outcome in both places will be widely different even if reasoning behind 
the moves is quite similar.
.
 >> Subsidies are evil. They are what is killing transit.
 >> If service was provided on a 100% recovery of
 >> operating cost like the CTA and TTC did until the 1970s
 >> the politics would be substantially less volatile.
 >> We need to move to a system where everyone pays
 >> the operating cost of what they actually use, be it roads or transit.
.
Oooooffff  --  I have trouble with Absolutes in an ImPerfect World.
.
Additionally,  I~F  we all paid the cost for what we used then the 
economy would come to a screeching halt.     Many of us wouldn't be here 
because we couldn't afford the health care to keep us alive.
.
I believe that the Free Enterprize System is the BackBone of a 
Successful Democracy  --  but since I recognize this is an ImPerfect 
World then it is logical that free enterprize won't be the best choice 
in all cases.     What gets subsidized / regulated / controlled / ??? is 
what suits society's fancy at any particular time.     *Most*  of our 
Street Railways were pure free enterprize and when Society Determined 
That They Weren't Working Properly in the 1950s // 1960s they went to 
subsidy  --  PRCo  to  ({[pat.]})     NOW  it is claimed that transit 
should be free enterprize again.     What people Fail To Realize Is that 
The Lowest Common Denominator here is  *_People_*  Themselves  --  the 
reason a System doesn't work is that the people don't make it work.     
It Takes Work  --  and most of us humans are allergic to same  --  it's 
only a matter of time before we have a medical condition to describe 
this~!~!~!     This is an excellent Example of the Pendulum Swinging To 
And Fro And Back Again  --  Yes~!~!~!
.
.
.
-- 
*Jim Holland*

Studying *Pittsburgh Railways Company*

....................From 1930 -- 1950

*Pennsylvania Trolley Museum (PTM)*

http://www.pa-trolley.org/

*N.M.R.A.*

http://www.nmra.org/