Here we all are, all of us, and we want RTA. Here's a serious question which sounds flippant: why do we have to ask to be given it? What is really stopping mutual transit companies springing up next week?
Bus production limitations and capital financing. There's probably also an exclusivity contract with the city or county which denies other local service operators from the area or certain routes.
So the latter problem is merely a legislative matter which could easily be different. The former matter is more of a problem because buses (and staff) are expensive and, as it seems, bus users generally don't have the money to pay for them-- although companies like Stagecoach seem to be doing quite well out of it anyway. Perhaps if the area was large enough to have enough people involved, or if several cities got together, they could help one another out or buy in bulk? I mean, mutual supermarkets exist, and mutual banks, and the land to build their branches on is hardly cheap, let alone the cost of buying the goods or raising the necessary capital.
Generally those contracts aren't done by legislatures but by city officials and are more often than not quite lengthy. Getting out of them or eliminating one which a company wants to keep would likely mean a protracted legal battle with little to no chance of winning given our court system.
As for expense, that's a simplification of the problem. But yes you could create a multi-community service, but by doing so you're going to run into the tax base as well as fairness in service issues. You still need the capital, infrastructure of the company, business model, and proposed hires (with appropriate diving or maintenance certifications) all in place before you could open the service and would still run afoul of part A of the problem.
It's a logistical nightmare to challenge a seated bus company.
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As for expense, that's a simplification of the problem. But yes you could create a multi-community service, but by doing so you're going to run into the tax base as well as fairness in service issues. You still need the capital, infrastructure of the company, business model, and proposed hires (with appropriate diving or maintenance certifications) all in place before you could open the service and would still run afoul of part A of the problem.
It's a logistical nightmare to challenge a seated bus company.
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