Transportation | Crouse Undisappeared

Nothing's worse than needing to get somewhere and not being able to get there.

Except for maybe having a way to get there that costs WAY too much.

In February of 2017 I wrote a proposal in response to the NASA Transition Authorization Act of 2017. This proposal discussed concepts of employee participation in commercial and other space ventures. It provided an analysis of three different manners in which workers in the transportation sector related to their jobs based on their ownership of the vehicles they were using as part of it. I took as examples:

The taxi medallion system that is still at work in some municipalities
Individual vehicle owners using their vehicles with proprietary models, such as Uber
Large-scale urban public transportation networks that were publicly financed and provided collaborative labor negotiation possibilities for the workers but left the actual ownership of the vehicles used for transport under the ownership of a government entity

There were a number of areas for consideration under these proposals.

Since then, I have been in positions where by-and-large I need to travel but have not had access to the currency that is officially recognized as necessary to purchase public transportation cards. I have attempted for YEARS to get responses to reports on fraud involving public transportation in at least two cities now to no avail. While I do not make excuses for "hopping the train" without paying, I also understand that public transportation plays a much more expansive role in local economies than is disclosed.

I am a big proponent of supporting people's personal ownership of their own motor vehicle. I also support technology to reduce dependency on oil and gas for combustion engines as the "motor" driving these vehicles. But, public transportation is something that many people desire and need in many places and as such should be safe and reliable. It should be safe for employees; it should also be safe for users.

Below is an initial outline of some recommendations that I composed on the morning of April 15, 2019. I had just finished riding a public transit train without paying for the fare using cash or a credit card at the kiosk. Let me say I have used public transport regularly in more than seven cities in my life and have only ever taken it without paying the fare since I came to Texas in 2016 (except for once on my birthday). The fare in Dallas costs $3 per ticket good for either the morning or the evening. A ticket for "fare evasion" costs $400 or requires an in-court appearance to challenge it that usually occurs a month or more later. That means in someone's ledger each train ride costs $3 or $400. But what are you really paying for? And how are you actually paying for it?

* How much do payroll/benefit packages for public transit employees cost?

* What percentage of national pension/global pension fund systems are comprised of transit workers/unions?

* How can we create local/interlocal transport networks with greater employee ownership/stake so as to enforce accountability and responsibility for employees on-the-job as well as in municipal decision-making?

This includes a revision of 2016 law changes on use of inventories at international ports as collateral on loans. What has happened with this policy since then and has it been applied elsewhere? I contend it has and is connected to abuse of the use of derivatives in places that are unacceptable, including in domestic municipal interactions in locations with jurisdictions that are disputed regarding law enforcement and the Department of Transportation.

* Revise February of 2017 NASA Transition Authorization Act recommendations regarding specifically the three types of proposed models for employee ownership/responsibility regarding “vehicles” to reformulate terrestrial transport networks/systems and their compensation/employee ownership models.

* Refine local transit option proposals and cite model proposed by Mr. Grey from Austin regarding smaller/select services/shuttles for municipal public transportation options; find out what happened to him and his websites.

* Look into models in other countries (especially regarding independent operator ownership and smaller shared-ride options) for evaluation/comparison.

* Set standards of public transit surveillance/safety/privacy and cross-reference with private transit options; reassess laws on access to and use of individual biometric data compiled via surveillance/security footage (see below).

Main aims:

* De-incentivize racketeering using public/other transit; this includes both on employee/user level as well as on the levels of those who participate in public financing schemes, including public transit employee pension schemes.

* Enforce penalties for abusing public-funded transit, including penalties for employee abuse or intentional efforts to entrap public transit riders into violations of the law for use in derivative transactions or undisclosed penalties.

* Decrease market share of transit-related pension funds and increase accountability for transit costs/transit safety by direct operator/employer control/accountability implementation measures.

* Implement analyses of “toll roads” with automatic charging features and cross-reference with automatic “toll”-type features for public transit users.

* Are there anything like “consumer coops” for large public transit projects anywhere? Or, are there models involving some form of private shareholder support for public transit? The focus is on providing accountable and verifiable means by which to support group or long-term investment in public transportation options.

* How to regulate/enforce policies regarding limitations on use of derivatives involving public transit?

* How also to assess the safety/viability of local/domestic transportation in accordance with international transport options. I am most concerned with the idea that local transit workers pension schemes tie them into other local pension schemes domestically and internationally that increase danger in other countries via lax rule enforcement or over-employment of derivative transaction processes concurrent to provision of transportation in the U.S.

* Also address safety regarding transit workers/employees background and other security checks. What happened to California state legislation to drop requirements for drug testing of workers in nuclear power plants? What are safety/clearance requirements for workers issued TWIC cards? How does using individuals or their current or past biometric accounts impact their ability to maintain safety background screenings for work in high-importance jobs, including those in transportation? It is unacceptable that public employees -- including “law enforcement” or “national security” -- should be able to illegally appropriate or “commandeer” biometric data from people using public resources -- like public transportation -- for use in proxy or derivative scenarios. We need severe penalties for abuse of this authority and to re-incentive lifestyle choices that do not engage in criminal activity or activity for which normalization -- such as recreational drug use -- can create potential public liabilities that amount to unsustainability.

_______________________________

Major concern here is that people on public transit are already being “charged” via biometric accounts or other surveillance features that can evaluate riders without disclosure and are also periodically exposed to harassment in the form of threats from “fare inspectors” for not using fiat currency to purchase a transit card. The technology is already available to use alternative payment systems, but my concerns is that riders are deceived into believing they are “breaking a law.” Not using official fiat currency to purchase a ticket is a breach of certain laws, but so is misrepresenting the terms of payment associated with use of public transit and waiving off other penalties/crimes via proxy simulation onto people who may or may not actually be issued a ticket for alleged violations of transportation use. Escalated “risks” associated with these "alternative financing" methodologies are unacceptable. Why should people who cannot afford to pay for a transit card via explicit means be extorted into culpability with what could be criminal activity?