Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
Streetsblog

To Put Transit on Stronger Footing, Stop Lavish Subsidies for Driving

How to get more transit riders, by Cap'n Transit
How to get more transit riders, via Cap'n Transit
false

There's an interesting conversation happening in urbanism circles about how to make transit financially sustainable, going back to a piece in CityLab last June from University of Minnesota professor David Levinson. Levinson made the case for running transit like a public utility, not a government agency.

There's one thing that's largely missing from these discussions, argues Cap'n Transit, and it's a big one: Transit isn't operating on a level playing field as long as roads and parking receive such huge subsidies. Glossing over the importance of this disparity is what he calls "transportation myopia":

Transportation myopia: the condition of seeing transit as a self-contained system rather than as an option in competition with private cars and other modes, and of seeing transit as an end in itself, rather than a means to an end.

Levinson himself acknowledges that transit was "hugely profitable" until competition from publicly funded roads and parking took away their ridership. And he acknowledges in his Way #2 that this could be reversed by charging the full cost for those roads and parking facilities. This is essentially the Magic Formula for Transit Ridership described by Michael Kemp back in 1973. And that's really all you need.

What we need to talk about is how to get full cost pricing for roads, including potential challenges and ways to overcome them. But for some reason Levinson doesn't talk about any of that, he just goes on to talk about smart cards and land value capture and bond markets.

Elsewhere on the Network today: BikeWalkLee shares an article indicating that Florida courts have pretty much given hit-and-run drivers a get-out-of-jail-free card. The Political Environment reports that Republican presidential candidate Scott Walker says he would "totally privatize" transportation. And Street Smart explains why a traditional street grid distributes traffic better than a highway.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

Christmas Sockings: Carl Heastie and Andrea Stewart-Cousins Say ‘No’ to Better Transit

The transit world is reeling this week after the two legislative leaders put a block on the MTA's capital plan.

December 26, 2024

Streetsies 2024: Vote For This Year’s Biggest Failures

Overall, it was a pretty sad year. But what was the city and state's worst failures? You get to vote!

December 26, 2024

Streetsies 2024: Vote for this Year’s Best Livable Streets Projects

This year had some bright spots for livable streets projects. Here are the ones that stood out.

December 26, 2024

Thursday’s Headlines: Christmukkah Edition

We took yesterday off to celebrate the many holidays and to see the new Bob Dylan movie. But there was lots of news.

December 26, 2024

On Christmas, Let’s Consider the Successes of the Livable Streets Movement

Here's a short, heartwarming film about the successes experienced this year by the livable streets movement.

December 25, 2024
See all posts