When we see the Mount my Mom always says, "where's my camera"? She has the world's largest privately held collection of Mt Wasington snapshots.
The Mount does seem to need very few passengers to pay the bills, I've seen her running quite empty especially weekdays in the spring and fall. There used to be rules for common carriers, they had to run their routes and schedules even when empty. I don't if such rules still exist and if they apply to her.
I'd rather see them fix their business model, if needed, than see government subsidies. I can't understand why they don't run the 3:15 cruise all season and skip an earlier one during slow times. A lot of people don't get up early on vacation. They have theme parties which seem to attract a good crowd on weekend nights. Maybe a similar idea would work during slow times.