☆ O’Toole’s free market approach to BART

Nationally recognized transit expert (and frequent Opp Now contributor) Randal O’Toole continues Opp Now’s exclusive series on Local Gov’t Hopes & Fears. His pitch: The SCC should treat failing urban transit systems as private businesses that are losing customers/revenue. After all, should local transit agencies get heftier subsidies to serve less riders?

My one big wish for San Jose in 2023 is that it abolishes the urban-growth boundary that has made housing so expensive. Increasing the urban area's density has only made it less affordable. Most people want to live in single-family homes that are less costly to build than multifamily.

My greatest apprehension is that Santa Clara and other Bay Area counties cave in to demands to increase subsidies to urban transit to make up for telecommuting-related declines in ridership. Private businesses that lose customers have to reduce costs, but transit agencies are spending more despite carrying fewer riders. It is time for transit to join the real world.

Follow Opportunity Now on Twitter @svopportunity

Image by Wikimedia Commons