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There is a wealth of data supporting the notion of fully subsidized public transportation: most prominently, 5:15pm in any major metropolis. Cities across the U.S. are adding staff, vehicles and lines to the current infrastructure, even going as far as installing outlets and wifi on longer commuter lines. Other countries have offered free public transport to their students and elderly, while major cities in and out of the U.S., like NYC and Singapore both have at least examined plans to ban single occupancy vehicles from the road in favor of utilizing public transportation in hopes of easing congestion.

We are reaching a crunch not only in oil reserves but in sheer road space. Estimates hover around 1 Billion cars on the roads by 2011. With new roads taking an average of 7 years to complete, we are heading towards a never-ending rush hour.

Public transportation has the capacity to assuage this crunch: but it has to be more than convenient, and the location of the nearest Starbucks to the tunnel's entrance is not as important as the cost. Because despite the longer and longer delays at toll booths, there is something about one's own vehicle that we are loathe to give up but for free for free we would probably make the jump.

The revenue governors garner from excise taxes wouldn't drop, and though states like MA and IL stand to lose millions in revenue from mass transit commuting, taxes could be adjusted to absorb some of the costs. Less congestion would bring new revenue streams, mainly employment, and could open housing markets up to buyers instead of renters; an identified marker of higher spending per capita.

Ultimately, public transportation should not only be free, but frequent, convenient, reaching further into the suburbs and provide better policing and comfort. Only by meeting all of these needs do cities stand to remain business hubs.

There are steps being taken by private companies already: Microsoft offers its own busing system for its employees, and several elderly homes offer free transport as a perk to draw assisted living clientele. Road tolls, prohibitive garage rates, and high rail pass rates only serve to discourage commuters from working in cities in the first place, and without workers, companies flounder. Free, efficient transport would change the concept of rush hour. Instead of a smog filled jungle of vehicles on Broadway honking, downtown could be a clean air extension of the public gardens.

Learn more about this author, Emily Mooney.
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