Any good marketer knows that it’s better to sell a product with a higher margin than with a lower one. Furthermore, the higher the margin on the product, the more likely it will be viewed by the buyer as prestigious and luxurious.
It doesn’t matter that one car may be identical to another, the higher price point carries with it a certain cache.
So does such a phenomenon exist in the world of public transit and policy? I think it might, especially since transit planners, policy wonks and politicians aren’t actually playing with their own money when they select one technology over another.
In that situation, why wouldn’t they opt for that which carries more prestige?
When we talk about Cable Propelled Transit, we’re often quick to point out that it is a very cost-effective technology. Same for Bus Rapid Transit. In comparison to Light Rail, BRT is almost always the more cost-effective technology.
But we have to remember that another word for “cost-effective” is “cheap.” And no one ever wants to look cheap.
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