@ Andre, I don't think this particular post is arguing that transit is unique to other products/services. Quite the opposite. As I read it, the point is that transit lines in a well-connected system should be considered complementary products (to expand the grocery store analogy: milk and cereal, peanut butter and jelly, chips and salsa). Together, they generate more demand than the sum of individual lines operating in isolation. I like to think of this as the Complementary vs Complimentary debate. When private industry offers one product at a discount to generate higher demand for other products (i.e. free salty chips at a restaurant to induce thirst for marked-up drinks), it is the genius of private industry capitalizing on demand for complementary products. When transit systems do the same thing, it is the waste of government offering complimentary products.