Why does it need to break even? Basically no other public service is expected to be cost-neutral.

I do think it's worth putting _a_ price on it, since that money can go directly into funding more lines and the like. And hey, popular lines could totally be made profitable. But "it needs to be profitable/break-even" is what leads to public transportation removing unprofitable lines.

And then after you do that a lot, turns out you have terrible coverage and your whole system becomes way less useful!