We read what we want to see. On the same page 4, I saw :
"In order to increase ridership, BART Has created incentives for the public ....
I interprete it to mean that business was not good and all the discount and reasoning of less pollution are just gimmicks to improve their business. My selective reading also highlighted to me that the discount is offered to the public and not selected group.
When situations are different it is not fair to quote selectively, just to justify for another case with different conditions.
that paper was written in 2005 as an environmental essay (a
green paper) for the case of having an extensive and effective transit system. in 2005,
bart was already carrying 300k passengers each workday. the writer's use of the phrase "in order to increase ridership" was for environmental reasoning rather than business reasons. the intent of
bart at that time was to encourage drivers to leave their cars and ride bart. increasing ridership as a business was a joke as fares were high. and high enough to deter drivers who were paying for gas much cheaper than a 1-way ride. i know because i ride bart since the 80s. and i ride because i can work on the train and get things done before i arrive at the office, and not because of going green. it's definitely not a money saver for me. even right now, it's way cheaper for me to drive. with increases in fares the past 10 years, ridership at bart actually goes up, and that's mostly because it's convenient going into the cities, especially sf where you'll get stuck in traffic for hours.
the "spare the air day" program which the writer alluded to for the equation "ridership = incentives = partnerships" has nothing to do with your interpretation that business was not good. business and ridership at bart have always been good since the 80s. i have decades of zip and xls files to prove that. in fact, on "spare the air days", rides are
free! free = $0. it's definitely not about business or profits when it's free. discount and partnership programs are targeted at sports and recreational events and advertised at the events' websites. everyone in the public can join the events, but you need to join the events in order to enjoy the special rewards and discounts. you cannot suka suka pretend to join the event but skip it just to enjoy the bart perks. you need to show your event ticket.
your poor interpretation and selective reading and comprehension (of a text written in clear english) has convinced me that sinkies are inadequate and ineffective in debating any issue factually, precisely and convincingly on sbf.