@moh_kohn @ccferrie It frustrates me that every ski resort in the world, bastions of pure capitalism, all provide free bus services because they can see it lubricates their money making machine: the resort; it gets punters to their hotels, to their restaurants, to their bars.
Why municipalities can’t see this same paradigm is frustrating.
@baoigheallain @moh_kohn @ccferrie Sometimes communities don't want free transportation because the "wrong people" will then be able to get around easily. I'm not sure how many ski communities have lots of poor people.
@thudfactor @moh_kohn @ccferrie That’s probably the core of the problem.
@baoigheallain @moh_kohn @ccferrie we're living in a dystopia where it turns out that casinos are probably more willing to fund public transport than municipalities.
@baoigheallain
It's probably easier to fund a free ski bus service where you can bake the cost into the price for a ski pass or a couple nights' stay at a ski lodge than it is to raise taxes in order to fund a public bus service.
@danimrich @moh_kohn @ccferrie Of course. The buses aren't 'free' they are paid for from tourist taxes and contributions to the bus company from the lift company.
Here is an example, municipally owned, funded by local taxes and the lift company.
https://www.chamonix-mobilite.com/en
But those dynamics exist in non-skiing towns too: there are taxes, and there are businesses who benefit from their customers being able to move around conveniently.
@baoigheallain
In Tyrol they recently came up with another interesting proposal: have tourists pay for free public transport for everyone within Tyrol.
@moh_kohn @ccferrie
@danimrich In Innsbruck, if you stay in a hotel you can get a free public transport pass for as long as your stay, which also gets you to local ski resorts. So in that case, the tourists aren't paying but maybe it comes out of the local tourist tax which is included in your hotel bill?
@huxley I think the money for this might come from multiple sources, e.g. the tourism boards and the ski areas.
@baoigheallain @moh_kohn @ccferrie Catalonia has publicly-owned ski resorts.
They're owned by the Catalan public railway company and some of the profits goes to subsidize rural public transport services, as the area has some really deprived areas that can use the help.