> I don't see how cutting pay for conductors is going to make anyone's lives better

It's going to make passengers' lives better by making their train rides more affordable, allowing them to improve their lives by leveraging those funds.

Or, it's going to make shareholders' lives better by increasing their profits.

Either way, some people will benefit from it. The question is -- what is the real, practical tradeoff, and is the tradeoff worth it to the participants in the system.