On Sun, Apr 18, 2010 at 10:02 AM, Sam Sloan <samhsl...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > > It is to be recalled that the reason the government got involved in > mass transit was that all the companies who built these systems went > bankrupt. The New York City subway system used to consist of three > private companies, the IRT, the IND and the BMT. Eventually the City > of New York had to buy them for a dollar. > The privately owned subways were forced into bankruptcy by government regulation. Fares were regulated by the Board of Transportation, which was filled with political appointees. Because no mayor wanted to be the one who allowed the greedy subway companies to increase fares, they were held at a nickel for the first 50 years of the subways' existence. As operated costs inevitably outpaced revenues over 50 years, the subways were forced into bankruptcy, and ownership was assumed by the city. Once all the privately owned subways were consolidated under government control, fares were promptly doubled to a dime in 1948. Five years later, fares increased again to 15 cents, leading to the introduction of the token. Only the IRT and BMT were privately owned. The IND was always a government entity. Jim [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
