[caddie]

Wow. A ride on the subway is $1.70.

So if they doubled the fare to $3.40 then it would pay for itself?

Rail is more viable than I thought.

Once gas is routinely $6.00 a gallon then that will settle it.

The anti-rail posters are hypocrites: Every form of transportation is "subsidized" which, in our perverted modernist lexicon means, "not taxed to death all the time."

In the old days, when people had a LOT LESS money, rail (and a lot of other things) was viable. Of course, taxes were reasonable.

But tax everything to death, and nothing is viable...Without the evil "subsidies."

[hellbender]

I agree with you. I live in a rural area where there are (or were before they were converted to hike/bike trails) rail lines everywhere, and you could go from village to town to big city easily, all run by private enterprise. The massive interstate highway system (taxpayer funded) and punitive taxes and regulations built up auto and truck transport and destroyed railroads. When you ride on public transit, you can read, work, or even doze off, so the time is not wasted.

As for those who complain about walking a few blocks to a station, the lack of walking is a big factor in the epidemic of obesity which afflicts the country, leading to unnecessary morbidity and mortality.