Queensland slashes public transport fares to 50c in six-month trial (www.theguardian.com)

submitted 5 months ago by vividspecter@lemm.ee to c/brisbane@aussie.zone

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[-] trk@aussie.zone 23 points 5 months ago

Why isn't public transport free? That's the sort of thing I want my taxes going towards.

From memory the cost of implementing Go cards and enforcing fares cost more than the income generated anyway. At 50c a pop I'm sure it is now.

Rather than paying private companies to implement ticketing on public transport, then expecting the public to put more money towards a private company's profit margin why not just cut out the middle man and make it free?

[-] DessertStorms@kbin.social 13 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

Rather than paying private companies to implement ticketing on public transport, then expecting the public to put more money towards a private company’s profit margin why not just cut out the middle man and make it free?

You answered your own question - the people making the decisions don't give two shits about what is best for you (the public), the environment, or even the efficiency of the public tax pot, all they care about is increasing profits for themselves and their ilk.

[-] Baku@aussie.zone 3 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

This is a Melbourne focussed article but makes a good case about why free PT wouldn't work in Melbourne:

https://www.ptua.org.au/myths/free/

I imagine similar arguments can be made elsewhere

[-] 50MYT@aussie.zone 1 points 5 months ago

Could you imagine the volume of cookers / crazies on the trams if it was free...

50c is insignificant enough that it doesn't break the bank commuting every day, but it also puts a barrier on people wanting to use it for non commuting purposes.