Validity: have public transit
The Issue
A recent audit of transit systems across @@NAME@@ revealed more cobwebs than coins in ticket vending machines, even though trains and buses are as crowded as ever. Worried about falling ticket revenues and rising numbers of fare evaders, your Minister of Transportation has suggested that you rethink transit fare policy, starting by going down into the subway and seeing the problem for yourself.
The Debate
1. "The trains are barely running!" laments a subway driver, leaning out the window as the train releases a worrisome hiss. "I got stuck in the tunnel for an hour yesterday because of a faulty electrical line, but my manager says there's not enough money from fares to fix it. To get transit budgets back on track, we need to raise ticket prices, high enough to cover the full cost of keeping systems in operation. Sure, some people still won't pay, but with the extra money from riders who do, this ol' train could finally get a tune-up."
Effect: poor transit riders are thrown under the bus.
2. "Forget raising fares: transit should be free!" yells a teenager who was just arrested by a police officer for attempting to jump over a fare gate. "Everyone has right to get where they need to go—rich people, poor people, people like me who, uh...left their transit pass at home. You have some tax money lying around to cover free fares, right?"
Effect: station agents beg for money on subway platforms.
3. "If you can't pay the fare, don't ride the train," declares Officer @@RANDOMLASTNAME@@ as @@HE@@ handcuffs the teen. "What we really need is more cops on the system to make sure everyone pays—I'm the only officer on the transit beat! And to stop scofflaws like this one, we've also gotta get new security cameras, impregnable fare gates, heftier fines for fare-evading, and—hey, get back here!"
Effect: commuters pass through barbed-wire gates to get on the subway.
4. "It's not about quantity of tickets but quality," sneers Mr. Ron Opoly, a tycoon who owns all four railroads in a nearby coastal resort city. "It is only proper that the upper crust should travel in manner befitting our wealth and status. My peers and I could be convinced to leave our limos if you added luxury train cars to subways, first-class reclining seats to buses, and private cabins to ferries. Those of us who like to travel in style will gladly pay more for a more refined transit experience, and our premium tickets will boost transit budgets, to boot. The rest of the teeming masses can pack into steerage like they always have."
Effect: there are only enough lifeboats for the first-class passengers on public ferries.