Jun 13, 2019
www.commsolutionsmn,com- We've been telling you for a while that mass transit ridership has been declining. All the while, government and transit advocacy groups have been pushing for more public transportation. Why would they want to spend money to build something that fewer and fewer people use? That is exactly the opposite of market-driven politics. Mass transit has proven to be inefficient and unreliable, not to mention that it doesn't get most people to where they are going. So in the names of equity and environmentalism, they push for additional lines and routes, an increased focus on moving employment to downtown centers, and the building of Transportation-Oriented Development (TOD) centers that serve dense populations of people. This effort is meant to ratchet up the war on cars and control the movement of people across a region. The Metropolitan Council has finally opened up a bit, saying that the numbers for ridership aren't meeting projections, but they also say that the problem isn't the government solution (it never is), or the increase in companies like Uber or Lyft, it's the sales pitch. Yes, they actually admitted that. Here's the kicker, this isn't just a Minnesota thing, ridership is dropping EVERYWHERE, even in the most liberal of cities. So what does this mean? I wish it meant the end of subsidizing this loser of an idea, but unfortunately it never will. We need to keep our eyes open and watch for the change in messaging. Some things never change... and bad ideas from the government are many of them.
Have you checked out our Spotify playlist? At the beginning of each episode Jason quotes some song lyrics that have to do with the subject matter of the podcast. Andrew never knows what they are, but now he can… and so can you! We’ve launched the Spotify playlist: “Community Solutions Music From the Podcast!” You can listen to Roundabout from Yes after listing to Episode 30 on Roundabouts… or kick back and enjoy a rocking playlist just for the thrill of it. We add a new song every week. Subscribe and enjoy!
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