At a time when the country is up to its eyeballs in debt, why are we still spending billions to subsidize Amtrak? It's often faster and cheaper to take a bus or a plane. The solution is remarkably simple. Deregulate Amtrak. In 1980, the Staggers Act deregulated rail freight. It gave railways freedom to charge market rates, enter confidential contracts with shippers, drop unprofitable runs and operate trains as they liked.What did this do to costs?
Why wouldn't you expect the same things to happen with Amtrak? It would shed the unprofitable parts of its business and figure out how to make the profitable parts more profitable. And the 90% of Americans who never use passenger rail would stop paying for those who do. Yet Congress keeps renewing this incredible waste because?
No comments:
Post a Comment