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Ask HN: Would more people take public transportation if it had business class?

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Re: Ask HN: Would more people take public transportation if it had business class?

#31

Post by throwaway22032 »

I would take public transport far more if it just had conductors in addition to the metro train/bus driver.

The general public don't want to confront degenerates (kids vaping on the bus, loud people, people insulting others with slurs, creeps etc).

Particularly late at night I don't feel comfortable on the bus and I'm a fairly imposing guy. If I were a young woman I don't think I'd want to get night buses at all.

There is an undertone to the whole public transport conversation that inevitably tends towards people thinking that you're bigoted (racist/classist/whatever) if you don't welcome antisocial behaviour, which anyone who actually had a poor upbringing will tell you is complete bullshit. There is no excuse for behaving like an animal in public.

Re: Ask HN: Would more people take public transportation if it had business class?

#32

Post by JimtheCoder »

I am probably wrong, but aren't airlines mostly privately held companies (for profit) while public transportation is owned by municipalities?

The whole "government owned" and "multi class" sort of draws some very loose parallels to racial segregation of the past to me...something that was fought against so we could all get equal treatment. When you add on public funding and special interest groups, this just seems like a total no go.

In the public sphere, the best, most effective solution is rarely the one chosen...

I am just thinking out loud...

Re: Ask HN: Would more people take public transportation if it had business class?

#33

Post by onos »

Mordisquitos wrote: post #7

If by "public transportation" we restrict ourselves to short-range metropolitan services, as used for commuting, all else being equal then the answer is no. The reason for this "no" depends on whether we're talking about an area where public transport is highly developed (e.g. most urban areas of Western Europe and Japan) or areas in which it is underfunded and underdeveloped and is mostly seen as transport for poor…

I have heard the bay area bart is in danger of going insolvent. It is both developed and under utilized. Given widespread safety and cleanliness concerns, I do wonder if a form of first class would raise use. However I imagine that’s a nonstarter there for cultural reasons.

Re: Ask HN: Would more people take public transportation if it had business class?

#34

Post by Retric »

sam2426679 wrote: post #17
Mordisquitos wrote: post #7

If by "public transportation" we restrict ourselves to short-range metropolitan services, as used for commuting, all else being equal then the answer is no. The reason for this "no" depends on whether we're talking about an area where public transport is highly developed (e.g. most urban areas of Western Europe and Japan) or areas in which it is underfunded and underdeveloped and is mostly seen as transport for poor…

It's worth pointing out that Japan does have business/first class on some of its trains. Presumably more people are willing to take it, or they simply make more $ per head.

Amtrak also has multiple levels of tickets/service as do some US ferries. I don’t think that’s quite what they are proposing, but rather a step up in terms of service and convenience.

Re: Ask HN: Would more people take public transportation if it had business class?

#36

Post by IceSentry »

mrkeen wrote: post #23
Mordisquitos wrote: post #7

If by "public transportation" we restrict ourselves to short-range metropolitan services, as used for commuting, all else being equal then the answer is no. The reason for this "no" depends on whether we're talking about an area where public transport is highly developed (e.g. most urban areas of Western Europe and Japan) or areas in which it is underfunded and underdeveloped and is mostly seen as transport for poor…

> In the case of developed public transportation the answer is no, because simply adding first class would decrease capacity. But capacity is a problem of the roads, not the busses themselves. You don't need to squeeze more people into the same amount of bus space, you need to get more 1-person-in-SUVs off the road, so more busses will fit on the road.

Maybe I'm just biased, but I assumed they were talking about trains and metros which aren't affected by traffic.

Re: Ask HN: Would more people take public transportation if it had business class?

#37

Post by sshine »

In Switzerland, trains do have first-class. The train system in Switzerland is wonderful, so I’d settle for regular class. I would not drive a car there.

I forgot my bag on the train once. I reported it and they emailed me on the same day confirming they had found it and asked if I wanted it mailed to me, or I wanted to pick it up at a station of my choice. That service cost €20, but because I had the commuter card, I only paid €10.

Re: Ask HN: Would more people take public transportation if it had business class?

#38

Post by JumpCrisscross »

JimtheCoder wrote: post #32

I am probably wrong, but aren't airlines mostly privately held companies (for profit) while public transportation is owned by municipalities? The whole "government owned" and "multi class" sort of draws some very loose parallels to racial segregation of the past to me...something that was fought against so we could all get equal treatment. When you add on public funding and special interest groups, this just seems li…

Amtrak has sleeper cars. And every public passenger train system I know of has classes, because otherwise you lose ridership.

Re: Ask HN: Would more people take public transportation if it had business class?

#40

Post by kj4211cash »

In the US, you probably wouldn’t collect enough from the first class passengers to pay for their trips let alone subsidize the trips of others. BART and the DC Metro famously serve lots of wealthy people, with a pretty mediocre standard of service, and aren’t close to breaking even. Do we really want to subsidize rich people traveling?
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