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Reversing a Federal Transit Rule - But Only in Washington State?

Posted by: Alek Miller

23 September 2009 - 7:00am

A federal pro-privatization transit rule, which prevents local transit agencies from competing with private bus services on providing service to special events, could see an end in Washington State with this year's transportation spending bill.

"But the Senate's transportation spending bill would only reverse the bus rule "in the state of Washington" -- which happens to be the home state of Sen. Patty Murray (D), chairman of the appropriations panel that drafted the legislation.

Murray's motivation for trying to undo the rule, which the Bush administration pushed to help private bus companies avoid 'unfair competition by federally subsidized public transit agencies,' seems clear. Seattle Mariners fans in her home state lost out on $3 local bus service to baseball games this year, after the city turned down a private company's bid to charge nearly $20 for the same ride."

Full Story: Feds Could Soon End Pro-Transit Privatization Rule - in One State Only
Source: DC Streetsblog, September 21, 2009
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Cars, I've come to believe, operate in two economies -- the cash economy, where you pay for them in dollars, and the gift economy, where you pay for them in favors -- basically, rides exchanged.
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