• markr@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Yes it is. Luckily we have a system of taxation. By ‘free’ I mean of course ‘at the point of use’. We could provide 100% subsidies for mass transportation for probably around 100 years before we would approach equity with the subsidies we have given to fossil fuels and private transportation.

    • user75736572@sh.itjust.works
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      1 year ago

      The reason people don’t use public transport is because right now it absolutely sucks in most places if you want more people to use them then they need to be privatised so a business that actually has an insentive to provide a good service can take over and make them great ( for example look at Japan). This way you can also lower taxes a bit which is great for the economy

      • markr@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Oh I agree. Use cost is one major problem, quality and non-existence is the other. However privatization is neoliberal bullshit. It doesn’t guarantee quality. It guarantees that profits will be extracted and therefore use cost will increase and/or quality will decrease.

        • user75736572@sh.itjust.works
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          1 year ago

          Companies actually have to make their customers happy, if there is adequate competition it will definitely work out, if you look at almost any industry (that isn’t overegulated) the customers are satisfied, companies have real insentives governments don’t.

          • markr@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            There is no competition for train lines. That is just stupid. Also multiple competing local bus services is equally stupid. Some services just don’t fit in the neoliberal model.

            • user75736572@sh.itjust.works
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              1 year ago

              Ther’s no competition if you have a bureaucrats approving only specific train lines if you just live it to the free market it’ll be alright