The Subsidization of RTD for the benefit of the wealthy
Today’s guest is Joshua Sharf. Sharf is a policy analyst for Complete Colorado and he joins Kim to discuss his article, RTD’s Subsidized Commutes Increasingly for the Well-Off.
From the article:
“Public transportation used to be sold as a means of helping commuters without cars, or for whom driving was prohibitively expensive, get to their jobs. It was seen as a means of providing mobility to some on the bottom or lower-middle rungs on the economic ladder, largely paid for by those who were busy trying to climb the higher rungs.
Increasingly, however, metropolitan bus and rail service are used by upper- and upper-middle-class wage earners, subsidized through taxes disproportionately paid by lower- and lower-middle-class families. For Denver area commuters, this change has occurred even as total ridership has stagnated, and massive amounts of money have been poured into light rail.”
Listen to the show for more information and background. You can read the entire article here.
