No free lunch, and no free transit

Re: “People power is needed to expand fare-free public transit,” comment, Jan. 7.

With the reiterative use of the phrase “fare-free public transit” (five times), the author spares no effort to ensure the reader understands his recommended removal of a “user-fee barrier to public transit ridership”.

It’s clearly past time for the writer, and his supporters to review, no, better yet, study, the long-standing adage “There ain't no such thing as a free lunch.” That was true when it was first extensively used in the 1930s. The only difference in the 2020s is higher cost.

Without substantive detailed costing studies of any free ridership programs anywhere in the Capital Regional District, all such proposals belong on the back burner until the local tax-paying citizens can rule on such initiatives (and on any associated proposing candidates) in the next local election.

Ron Johnson Saanich