In July, 2007, Dave Thornton, organizer of the 72nd annual National Model Railroad Association convention, held in Cobo Hall, was quoted by the Detroit Free Press as saying that he appreciated the Detroit People Mover, but that other cities have more comprehensive transportation systems.
In a March 16, 2005 op-ed piece in the Wall Street Journal headlined “Mass Transit Hysteria; Take the Plunge, Save the Planet,” conservative satirist P. J. O’Rourke addressed an upcoming transportation bill that contained a hefty allocation of funding for public transit. He ironically opined that perhaps the astonishing cost of public transportation could be supplemented either by turning metropolitan transit systems into amusement-park rides or by installing slot machines on the trains. Obviously, that wouldn’t be effective—Mr. O’Rourke is a satirist implying that public transit isn’t important and thus isn’t worth funding, not someone proposing an effective means of funding it.
The funding problem, though, is real, and many people who aren’t wealthy pundits rely on public transit as their only means of transportation: Detroit’s own model railroad, the People Mover, which runs on a 2.9-mile closed track around several blocks downtown, may not quite fall into the category of what most people think of as a mass-transit system as it is now. It typically operates at only 2.5% of its passenger capacity. The low ridership means that the cost per passenger mile to operate the People Mover is $4.26, as compared to DDOT buses, which operate for merely $0.82 per passenger mile, or the New York Subway, which operates at only $0.30 per passenger mile. DPM passengers pay a fare of $0.75 per ride. The City of Detroit and the State of Michigan must annually subsidize the remaining $12 million of the People Mover’s operating costs. The need for this $12 million subsidy is a problem.
Here is your task: please brainstorm an argument proposing a means by which the People Mover might be operated on a cost-recovery basis, i.e. without the need of a taxpayer subsidy to keep it in operation; or, you might develop an argument that the People Mover be scrapped entirely.
Bear in mind the basic elements of a proposal argument:
1. Describe the problem,
2. Show how the problem affects the reader (you can skip this one for this essay),
3. Make a claim proposing a solution to the problem, demonstrate that the proposed solution will be effective and, importantly,
4. How the proposed solution is feasible.
You may indirectly quote (don’t copy the wording) as common knowledge any of the facts stated above (no references). You may, of course, consult your class notes or the textbook as well. Remember to capitalize “Detroit,” since it’s a proper noun.
