I didn't intend to turn the direction of this discussion away from the possibility of free public transportation. My point was missed. What I still question is how anyone expects to fund free public transportation when the public transportation we now have is being cut in so many large cities already. If there are these large lay-offs, as has been posted and links have been given to indicate, and they are collecting some small fare then it would require more tax money to cover the loss of that fare if they tried to fund the transportation without a fare. From the statistics we have been tossing around the tax increase necessary would require the support of those 9 out of 10 people that drive their car rather than use public transportation. Even if it were a worthy cause it seems like it would have a very slim chance of happening in places where the voters have a voice.