Is it possible that one solution to public transportation problems might be
deregulating it and opening it up to "free enterprise"?
Lest this sound like rhetoric, let me explain : If anyone could buy a bus or
van and drive around to bus stops offering people rides charging whatever they
felt worked, there'd be competition and prices might go down. Also, such
people might coordinate with neighborhoods who had more autonomy and decide to
pick up from special depots. If neighborhoods could actually alter their
physical environment without permit reference to some imperial center like
city hall with all the red tape bullshit, people might get together and build
a little adobe depot with good lighting and maybe a phone or something so
people could feel safer --both from the elements and human predators.
Thinking about these things, I organized this month in L.A. a "Freak Bicycle
Brigade", encouraging people to show up in their favorite surrealist costume,
whether that be fetish gear or drag or gothic or punk or ballerina or clown or
whatever, and bike together to feel safe and sort of announce our solidarity
in freedom to be ourselves and travel safely without car. I'd like to do a
similar thing with the buses.
Re : "free market busing" (see above), altho this doesn't happen on city
streets, I know it happens informally around Greyhound Bus Stations, at least
at the Downtown L.A. Depot. People with vans and buses will hang out outside
the perimeter and call out destinations, and they usually ask for a
significant amount less than the prevailing Greyhound prices. These are
usually trips to San Diego or to Mexico, but the principle could be expanded.
If Greyhound charges $40 for a trip from L.A. to San Diego, then it could
definitely be worth a driver's effort and time (3 hours) to get ten people in
a van and charge $20. (Not a bad work day : $180 (assuming $20 for gas) for
six hours .... of course, it could only be three if you stayed over at your
destination point and then the next day offered return trips). I guess this
was sort of the intention of Ride Boards at colleges ... I'm not sure how much
these function any more ... but it's a great idea ... one could imagine
neighborhood ride boards or block ride boards ... that would require some
organizing of the block and a small space to put up a bulletin board with some
cover for rain, snow, etc, where people could pin up where they were intending
to ride to, etc.
