Some people at UC Berkeley published an article this week giving “five arguments for making subways free.” Yet it is more realistic to think that fares should be raised, not reduced.
The five arguments in the Berkeley article are:
- Marginal costs are low because capital costs have already been spent;
- Externalities are low especially if the subways get cars off the road;
- No more waiting in lines to pay;
- Subways help poor people and stimulate the economy;
- There are increasing returns to having more riders.
Some of these depend on the system, yet the Berkeley article makes no distinction between such extremes as the New York City subway, which is the heaviest-used transit system in the country, and the Baltimore subway, which is a joke. Other arguments are simply wrong. Continue reading
