Random thought regarding MBCR

After ready another thread about the (lack of) spirit of innovation with commuter rail, (http://www.railroad.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=11551), I was thinking: would MBCR benefit from being held in the private sector (either as a publicly traded company, or in a private equity firm)? While it may not be a feasible endeavor (since as I understand it, the company is not profitable), such a move would seem to free up the company from politics and perhaps give the company access to more capital. So, is commuter rail a public service that should be funded by the government, or an industry that should be controlled by market forces?

While such a move would probably give MBCR an infusion of capital, it may not be beneficial to those who use its service. Fundamentally, a public company (or any company for that matter) exists for the benefit of its shareholders. Given that shareholders increasingly seem to be less concerned with the companies they "own" and more concerned with their own short-term profit, I don't seen how such a move could benefit us. The net effect would be to move ownership, and thus control, of our commuter rail to an entity that answers to neither the state nor the riding public.

MBCR is made up of THREE for profit companies, and they have been making a profit on this deal.