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History of Intercity Bus Transportation..
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"America needs a National Public Transportation system where every town of any reasonable size is assured of public transportion, and this must be subsidized. The Swiss have not fought a war in over 150 years but they have a well trained civilian reserve army. If Global terrorism is ever to end, a National USA Public Transportation System is absolutely essential." <br /> <br />This is an apples and oranges comparison. One of the reasons Switzerland hasn't fought a war is simple geography- it's hard to invade and secure a country surrounded by mountain ranges (look at Afghanistan for a more modern example.) <br /> <br />Modern warfare is dependent on moving troops quickly, with the troops in some condition to fight when they get on the ground. To move large numbers of people rapidly, the military uses aircraft. The bus is used to get troops from their barracks to the airfield... usually with a long line of trucks following the bus carrying personal gear. <br /> <br />The greatest impediment to the rapid and effective movement of troops is their heavy equipment. A bus can't carry (or tow) an Abrams fighting vehicle. Aircraft have limited capability for heavy lifting. The military must rely on two modes of transportation to ship equipment like armored personnel carriers and tanks- rail and ship. This capitalizes on what railroads and ships do best- moving bulk commodities long distances at a rate of speed that allows for matching arriving troops with their equipment at their destination. <br /> <br />IMHO (neither humble or scientifically supported) any government subsidy to "public" transportation using the justification of "military neccesity" will come in the form of rapid freight handling, not improved passenger service. The same may be said for busses. <br /> <br />Erik
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