LETTER: Passenger rail isn’t the only transportation option that is subsidized
A recent letter writer implied that passenger rail transportation, whether commuter or Amtrak, is the only transport mode that receives subsides from various levels of government. What do he and other like thinkers believe the round-trip fare would be to fly coach from Los Angeles to Las Vegas if the airlines had to pay for the total costs of their airports and the air traffic control systems?
Do buses and heavy trucks pay anywhere near the costs of the damage they do to our streets and highways? Do passenger-carrying vessels pay the total costs of maintaining our ports and waterways?
No, every mode of passenger transportation worldwide receives some sort of government subsidy to keep running.
Other countries, many with lower economies, seem to be able to improve their transportation systems without the “gold plating” that always seems greatly increase the costs of similar projects in the United States. And that is sad.
