Is Public transit Charity?

[Wesley Mouch]

...snip...
Our public transportation system is a failure because we are trying to be something that we are not. Take the money from a bus and buy four Pacificas. Electric, nat gas, heck, automated when available. THAT will be the cutting edge public transportation--from point to point in the most efficient vehicle possible. Not trying to make us look like Chicago with 1/100th of the ridership.
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BG's point isn't that Pacificas are great cars. Its that trying to be the MTA or CTA isn't possible. We don't have the density nor local economy. Subways here would be absurd. Light rail, well maybe on a couple major runs. Even BRT won't ever be the answer to the Chene line.

We need to have public transit -- for a non-trivial segment of our population. But it makes no economic sense to have a 10 Mile Road bus line. So we have to think smarter.

For Detroit, I suspect the best solution [[outside of the major lines) would be to eliminate DDOT, and Uber/Lyft it 100%. Yes, there are challenges. Lack of smartphones/credit cards. But if we could invent cars here, we sure could invent solutions to little problems. [[Phone call-ins, alternate payment/credit methods.).

Pouring money into heavy busses won't ever get us something that works for the disadvantaged among us, nor for each wave of hipsters being hatched.