Is public transportation a right we are due?

No.A right is an action that requires no sanction.

I wouldn’t say that it is a “right.” But it is something that, overall, benefits everyone. Those who use public transportation and those who don’t. People need to support things that benefit their own communities. Public transportation reduces traffic on the roads, it allows people who cannot afford to own or maintain cars (in cities, parking, etc.) allows people to get to jobs, shop at stores, merchants, etc. Maybe it’s not a right but it is sensible and cost-effective., I think.

“Public” means the taxpayers pay for something whether they use it or not. There is no consensus that transportation should be supplied to all who want it, at the expense of the taxpayers.

I think it is a right if we pay state and federal taxes. If we are obligated to pay the government money we should be afforded certain rights and that includes a public transportation system that we all can use. If they government won’t give us a free car then I want a public transit system with our hard earned money

I’ll answer your question with another question. Have you ever lived outside a major city, visited it for a evening using public transportation, and then been left stranded downtown until 4 am? I really could have used a bus service that was in service after midnight. I would like a public service to not have a curfew. I think that as much as people are paying in taxes it is a public service and should be a right.

Getting around Europe last summer was a wake up call for me. There subways are wonderful, and made life much more tolerable for very little money. I can’t imagine having the good time I had without them. It was sad to come back to the south where that sort of thing is not even in the vernacular.

Not on a national level.

I think in certain cities, with high living expenses and crowded streets, it should essentially be a right. If you have to work in a city but, because of the nature of the city, cannot afford a car, the city should provide transportation.

I’m not sure that public transportation is a right so much as a logical public investment that benefits lots of citizens.

Agree with those who suggest it’s an awfully good idea but not a “right”. To demand something is natural enough for us taxpayers, but we have to agitate hard to get the
funding to go to the things we want the most. That’s democracy.
Otherwise we’re just essentially a lot of brats.

There are no rights due anyone. This is earth. You must fight for your rights.

Even now another of your Unalienable Right is being trampled by the government which is supposed to be by the people for the people and of the people. Wake up and smell the coffee….

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights…”

No.

I believe that the term that you’re looking for is entitlement.
And no.

Hardly hon; this is a funny question.

No. You chose where you live. If you want good public transportation move to NYC, or DC or Boston or…

I’ve carefully examined the Constitution of the United States. I have determined that public transportation is not a “right” in the USA.

We are not due anything other than those things that we organise or pay for. People feeling that they are entitled to such things are likely to have a life blighted by disappointment.

@DarkScribe -Yep ;)

Section 8.

The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises, to pay the debts and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United States

@davidbetterman
Consider: all those people that walk to work now take their free crappy, because government-paid stuff usually is, and people suck public transit to work. Less exercise leads to more obesity.
Consider: installing and maintaining free public transit would be hideously expensive. That gets recuperated by taxing the middle class – in the long run. In the short term, it further indebts us to places that don’t like us, like China.
General welfare?

Checked the Constitution and Bill of Rights.

Nope.

No, But it’s helpful.

Is it listed as a “right” in the Constitution? No? Then it’s not a “right.”

By “right” I didn’t mean free public transport, just available mass transit.

Taxpayers decide what they want to pay for and what they do not wish to provide through their responsible use of voting. If mass transit is subsidized by the taxpayer, then it will be a political/community decision. If it is self supporting, it will be a market place decision.

In our country, everyone is free to walk.