On Wed, Dec 3, 2008 at 6:17 PM, Bob Sullivan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > PJ, > The free market and distances destroyed rail transit.
Whatever economic forces are involved, it ain't "free market". Cars and trucks have the advantage of free, government constructed and maintained roads, bridges and other infrastructure for much of their travel. Even toll roads don't come anywhere close to the cost of building and maintaining trackage. Railroads had to buy their rights of way (I know, in the 1800's it was often given away for free, but certainly not by the mid-1900's), construct their own bridges, build and maintain tracks, etc, etc. Why isn't the fact that the entire roadway and infrastructure was put in place by taxpayer money not considered a subsidy of the automobile and trucking industries? I'm not saying it's a bad thing, but it should at least be recognized for what it is. cheers, frank -- "Sharpness is a bourgeois concept." -Henri Cartier-Bresson -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
