That’s very much the point. There’s more to the cost/benefit ratio than just ticket price and the provider’s profit margins. There’s also the cost to the public of people not using buses: road congestion, which adds to everyone’s commute times; the productivity impact of those longer commutes; the need for parking spaces when cars are used; the cost of that parking; the opportunity cost of those parking lots not being used for something else more socially valuable such as housing; the externalities such as additional noise, pollution and fatal accidents; the reduced disposable income that results from more costly (at point of use) options.
That’s very much the point. There’s more to the cost/benefit ratio than just ticket price and the provider’s profit margins. There’s also the cost to the public of people not using buses: road congestion, which adds to everyone’s commute times; the productivity impact of those longer commutes; the need for parking spaces when cars are used; the cost of that parking; the opportunity cost of those parking lots not being used for something else more socially valuable such as housing; the externalities such as additional noise, pollution and fatal accidents; the reduced disposable income that results from more costly (at point of use) options.