yellowcanoe wrote:Bus driver salaries are just a small part of what I see as a growing discrepancy between public sector and private sector compensation.
So then the solution is no one makes a good living and we can lower rich folks taxes some more?
The reason public sector wages are higher is there is no owner skimming the profits, raiding the retirement plan, and offshoring the work to a little Chinese girl. Take away government competition for employees and private wages would really fall. But at least we'd have no reason to be jealous of the dumb bus driver.
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Anyway, on topic, I've recently begun doing some graphics work for a sorta-urban bus system. It is not large, only 10 permanent routes but it is in the San Francisco Bay region so part of the larger scheme. I can say, just from initial impressions, that many of the topics we talk about here are at the forefront of the admin agenda, aside from imminent die off. The system is probably too small to for electrification, and the area growing too much still, but nat gas transition and other "green" topics are common. So is expanding the ridership outside the typical demo — read that as poor folks. This is an intermodal system connecting to BART, ferries, Park 'n Ride and neighboring bus systems.
If I hear anything interesting I'll let you all know
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