Matthew Yglesias: If your commute is a nightmare, blame Congress

Public transportation faces 'death spiral' as pandemic funds dry up

Major cuts to public bus and rail services are looming in cities from Chicago to San Francisco, as combined route reductions and fare hikes suggest a post-pandemic "death spiral" in ridership and revenue.

Matthew Yglesias: If your commute is a nightmare, blame Congress

America’s mass transit agencies are teetering on the brink of collapse. The money they got from Congress to help them through COVID-19 is running out, but ridership remains below what it was before the pandemic. Lower fare revenue plus higher wage costs equals a bigger deficit. Unless state governments fill that gap, agencies will need to dramatically curtail service. Yet service levels are one of the primary determinants of ridership. Hence the…

Now you can expect more expensive and worse public transport services. If the ticket is too expensive, Even (31) believes more people will choose the car.