On Friday’s WAMU Politics Hour, Prince William Chairman Corey Stewart (R) discussed his opposition to a proposed VRE express train that would skip Prince William entirely.

Tom Sherwood asked if VRE is “working” or “making money.” To the first question, Stewart replied, absolutely.

No form of [transportation] makes money. Even roadways are subsidized. … So the question is, is it cost effective, and compared to other forms of [transportation] along the 95 corridor, the answer to that question is yes, because it’s absolutely essential. It does take thousands of cars off 95 and 395 and Route 1. Thousands of people depend on VRE every day to get to work.

At the other end of the history spectrum, JTS sends along this video from San Francisco, 1905, just a year before the fire. Streetcars, private cars, pedestrians and cyclists are all sharing Market Street.

It’s chaotic, but yet orderly at the same time. The libertarian-leaning Ludwig von Mises Institute calls it “a beautiful image of freedom.”

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Tagged: corey stewart, prince william, public spaces, san francisco, transit, video, virginia, vre

David Alpert created Greater Greater Washington in 2008 and was its executive director until 2020. He formerly worked in tech and has lived in the Boston, San Francisco Bay, and New York metro areas in addition to Washington, DC. He lives with his wife and two children in Dupont Circle.