Equality and Bus Transit Funding Policies

Abstract

This study examines different ways to fund a municipal service and evaluates funding schemes in terms of various criteria of equality. Findings indicate that several kinds of equality are unreasonable or impossible to attain; other funding policies have costly implications for local budgets. Most important, the inability of policymakers to achieve several definitions of equality simultaneously is illustrated. Because of this difficulty, the decision-making processes surrounding the funding or distribution of municipal services are likely to generate significant political conflicts.