Taipei Metro has improved its reliability and punctuality in recent years, and turned a profit for the first time (afaik) in 2016. Nice summary piece here, written comparing it to Singapore: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/cnainsider/taipei-metro-subway-system-lessons-singapore-smrt-breakdowns-10046044 …
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There is a very interesting line regarding profitability: “If profit is the only criterion … then very quickly, the public transport will break down.” The operative word here is "only"
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If profit is the ONLY criterion, transport will likely break down--why? Because there are all kinds of ways to make a profit which don't involve good transport!
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But if profit is completely disregarded as a criterion, you get an equally grave problem: how do you keep the system running? You need to come up with the money year after year, relying on sectors of the economy which won't necessarily line up w rail needs (in time or cost)
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This doesn't even address the problem of the *willingness* to fund transit in this manner--only the issue of mismatched costs and revenues. It can only be mitigated by recovering as much cost thru operations as possible--ideally, turning a profit!
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So no--profit isn't the only consideration. But it must be a consideration, and a primary one, if you want a system which will work well today and still work tomorrow!
"Just make a profit"
"Transport people profitably"
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