I was struck by a phrase in "Sluggish Pace Will Bring Social Conflict" (Jan. 1) referring to France's "money-losing" railway lines, and by its similarity to numerous references in the media to partially subsidized public transport systems that try to characterize such systems as monstrous leeches on society.
Let me ask you this: How much money do the streets and highways bring in, then? According to figures I have seen, fuel taxes, registration fees and even tolls amount to such a minuscule proportion of the cost of building, maintaining and policing roadways that it becomes evident that the private automobile is the most heavily tax-subsidized form of transportation on Earth, as well as the most destructive to the community, the environment and, quite often, to physical life itself.
