Breaking the Broken
So as of today, BART is raising its fares.
The transit system announced last month that fares will rise 3.7 percent system-wide to keep pace with inflation and operational costs.
Great. An already totally over-priced public transportation system is getting more unaffordable.
Since I moved to the Bay Area, nearly six years ago, I’ve wondered why we couldn’t have a system with a flat fee, like the one in New York City. The baseline fare for subway and bus rides to anywhere in the five boroughs is just $2. That’s up 50 cents from when I lived there. Fifty cents in six years. It’s almost enough to make me type exclamation marks.
To boot, MTA’s system is much more comprehensive than BART, with shorter distances between stops and many more lines.
Because I don’t exactly have the tools for an exhaustive investigation of BART, I’ll let my snap judgments speak for themselves. Two words come to mind: politics and corruption. Well, maybe that’s redundant.
I’ll be writing more on this soon. I want to spend enough time on this topic in the coming months that it’s warranted it’s own category.
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January 2nd, 2006 at 12:09 am
Man - since I moved to Boston I haven’t taken the train nearly as much as I should. I’ve been a bit of a homebody. But the deal here is great: $1.25 wherever you want to go. Yep - flat rate, like New York, only cheaper.
Before I moved here, the last time I took the train in Boston was in 1997 when I was here for MacWorld. It was 80ยข I believe at that time. When we got here I thought it was a ripoff that it was now $1.25, but obviously it’s still a bargain.
BART’s pricing schedule is a disgrace. It’s a real shame.