patrick.net

http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2013/11/12/hong_kong_mtr_costs_great_transit_at_low_cost.html

I'm back in the United States after visiting several Asian cities, most recently Hong Kong which has a very impressive rail transit system called the MTR. It's no surprise to learn that a city-state would take the effort to build itself a first-class rail system. But what is surprising is that somewhat contrary to the dominant discourse in American politics, creating great transit in Hong Kong doesn't mean lavishing the system with subsidies. Instead, a big key to their success seems to be cost-control. MTR does things other than Hong Kong transportation operations (on which more later), but their Hong...