Debates about public transit typically are drawn along philosophical lines.
One side lauds the social benefits of subsidizing transportation options that are accessible to everybody and affordable for nearly all residents. The other side believes there should be nothing public about public transit and that government should not be in the business of subsidizing a service that could be provided by private enterprise.
Each argument has merits, with corollary discussions often drifting into the issues of light rail or the appropriate level of bus service.
Some of the talking points surrounding the discussion are related to new information from C-Tran. Agency officials report that about 18,000 people took advantage of free round-trip shuttle service between six Park & Ride locations and the Clark County Fair during the fair’s recent 10-day run. That marked a 15 percent increase in ridership from the previous year. It should be noted that shuttle riders also received discounted admission to the fair, which might have attracted some riders.
C-Tran has offered free shuttles to the fair since 2015. With this year’s event drawing an estimated 270,000 attendees, the rides represent a small percentage of fairgoers, but not an insignificant one. There are communal benefits to helping attract people to the fair, and there are communal benefits to providing alternatives that help reduce the number of cars on the road. But at what cost?
In 2016, C-Tran operations overall saw a farebox recovery rate of 20.6 percent, which means that about 80 percent of its costs were subsidized by taxpayers. That is about the norm for public transportation entities throughout the country.
Until the middle of the 20th century in the United States, mass transit typically was provided by private companies that often competed for rights of way and for riders; but that model became unprofitable and, therefore, unsustainable. The haphazard replacements for that private enterprise, unfortunately, have not represented an improvement.
As Joseph Stromberg wrote for Vox.com in 2015: “American buses, subways, and light rail lines consistently have lower ridership levels, fewer service hours, and longer waits between trains than those in virtually every comparably wealthy European and Asian country. At the same time, a much greater percentage of U.S. public transit costs are subsidized by public tax dollars. In other words, we pay more for transit and get far less — basically the worst of all worlds.”
Americans’ love of cars — and the suburbs that love helped create — is part of the reason. But as this nation becomes increasingly aware of the environmental damage caused by cars and as cities focus on increasing density, it is time to rethink this nation’s transit systems. While public transit typically makes us think of tightly packed metropolises, public transit also can enhance the quality of life for residents in midsized areas such as Clark County.
On one level, the effectiveness of C-Tran’s shuttle service to the fair demonstrates the flexibility of buses. When the market dictates that services need to be increased or moved to a different location or time, buses can accommodate that changing demand. But on another level, it is reasonable to ask how much the public is willing to subsidize public transportation.
Regardless of the answers, accessible and cost-efficient public transit will be essential to creating a prosperous community for the future. Local leaders would be wise to begin asking the hard questions sooner rather than later.
