Re: Free trams for St Kilda [Vic]

[dbromage@fang.omni.com.au (David Bromage)]

Taliesin Walker (taliesin@chariot.net.au) wrote:
> Start making trams free, and you'll find that every place in Melbourne
> with parking problems will expect to have free trams. A slippery
> slope? Not that I'd complain if they made public transport free.

The Cain government did a study in about 1989 as to whether public
transport should be free. The reduced expenditure on roads would more than
offset the loss of ticket revenue and the requirement for more trains.

So why didn't it go ahead?

A Labor government would have had to sack several thousand redundant
station staff. The unions wouldn't have liked it.

Cheers
David