Dave Snell's letter ("Fare-Free Busing Could Make Service Overcrowded, Late" Jan. 26) was a puzzle. As I understood it he was complaining that having fare-free buses would result in crowded, heavily used vehicles -- and that this would be a terrible thing. Until I read the letter, I had assumed that every student in City and Regional Planning (the department in which Mr. Snell is a graduate student) would view crowded buses as a good thing -- at least in principle.
After all, every bus with a full load of passengers means 30 or so fewer cars trying to arrive on campus and park. I had thought that the sight of a crowded bus would bring joy to the heart of a city planner -- and that the solution to "overcrowded" buses would be to lobby for more buses, more frequent schedules, express buses, etc. -- not trying to prevent the expanded use of public transportation.
Pierre Morell
Professor
Department of Biochemistry
