As far as bus drivers and train crews operating on 'their own schedule', you are dead wrong. Any delay of 6 minutes or later at a terminus or turnaround point and we have to account for it.
Come ride Route 15 with me. Really. This is an invitation. I live near Richmond & Clearfield, and on a
REGULAR BASIS I see myself looking at my watch (synchronized with Bell time) and watching the 15 pull out of Madison loop 6 minutes late. FOR NO REASON (well actually the reason is for some operators there is too much time in the schedule, so by leaving late, when they arrive at BROAD they are close to on time). I have complained many, many, many times to the complaint department since the 15 was a bus. And it still goes on today. This is not a swipe at the RRD's, mainly at CTD, and I see this go on all the time. Operators have even told me this is the case. I suspect that management is harder on rail ops than surface ops.
the riding public are pigs
Thats why Philadelphia is known as Filthy-delphia. I understand, but am tired of riding in a trash pit. Sad to say, but I've seen bus operators throw all their trash into the back door stairwell, open the door and toss it into the bus loop.
I see your point on not privitizing. But I have to wonder what was the point in letting the original private operators go bankrupt, instead of treating them like airlines, so at least the whole thing isn't a constant public problem. It would have made sense to bail out the PRR, Reading, PTC rather than create this worthless beaurocratic organizational mess we have today.
. Some of my coworkers are without a doubt guilty of that.