But in that time transit ridership has dropped 15 percent and operating costs have increased 105 percent. The salaries for municipal bus drivers are often three to four times those in the private sector. According to Wendell Cox and Jean Love, consultants at the American Legislative Exchange Council, competition could save mass transit 20 to 60 percent of its costs each year. With expanded routes and better service, ridership would rise by 50 percent. Most importantly, an estimated 100,000 new workers, including many poor minorities, would be added to the economy.
Transportation is a local priority best met by local officials and markets working together.
By cutting counterproductive federal regulations, urban areas could spend their resources on more pressing concerns such as crime and stifling tax rates. Too bad Congress is ensuring this competition is one-sided. John Walters is the president of the New Citizenship Project.