Mass Transit Would Disappear Without Government Subsidies, Says Top Senate Democrat

(CNSNews.com) – Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) said that without public subsidies, mass transit systems would cease to exist. He said without annual infusions of public cash, government-run transit systems could never provide an "economical" ride.
 
Menendez, chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Subcommitte on Housing, Transportation, and Community Development, told CNSNews.com that no government-run transit system in the world could survive on riders' fares alone.
 
"There's no mass transit system in the world that is self sufficient," Menendez said. "So every government – in Europe and other places which have some of the best systems – actually subsidize it, because in order to attract the ridership that you want, you have to be able to produce a ride that is also economical."
 
Menendez, who had called a hearing of the Housing, Transportation, and Community Development Subcommittee to examine whether more subsidies were needed, said that if government transit systems were forced to pay for themselves, everyone would simply drive their cars.
 
"So if you were to add not only operating costs, but if you were to add capital costs, then you'd probably decide that you're not going to have a mass transit system at all, because it'd be way too expensive,” said Menendez. “You would not only have not enough ridership, [but it] would continue the domino effect of making it impossible to sustain the system at any level."