I'm sure it's too late to debate the changes to transportation missions as it is a done deal. Remind me again why this needed fixing? I think changing it is a mistake for the sake of perceived imbalance and is based upon emotional arguments of little substance. I have to ask, what is so wrong about having a mode of making NIC quickly? Where is the hard data that shows real imbalances due to people making quick NIC from transport missions? I'll bet nobody has hard, objective statistics to definitively define a real problem.
The way the Golden Triangle assignments are now, it allows people like me with limited recreational time to log on, make some quick NIC, and log off. Furthermore, it is a seriously boring mode of play; I can't do more than two rounds worth, then I have to stop. Some people will grind such boring stuff until their eyes drop out. So what? So what if players choose to become filthy rich from crying tears of boredom. If you don't like that mode of play, you are free to avoid it and choose whatever assignment types tickle your fancy. Simultaneously, this is automatically balanced because everyone can choose to do make quick cash or not.
Every game should have some way to make cash quickly, especially in a PvP based game. Having to grind many hours to cover PvP loses is very difficult for working folks like me. Not only that, but large time investments in resource grinding is NOT fun. A method to make cash quickly minimizes the grind and maximizes the more fun elements of the game. Kernel farming is a great example. My corp needs thousands of kernels, and we have to grind to get them. I don't consider this very fun, no more or less fun than transportation missions. It's simply something that must be done to grow our in-game skills. If I could grind NIC quickly and buy a bunch of kernels, I'd be happier. That option is about to be taken away.
Lastly, balancing via nerfing is just a bad design decision and establishes an ugly precedent. Nerfing is a cheap and easy way to accomplish balance. In this particular case, the Devs are using a nerfing strategy to balance something that needs no balancing. Good job.