Matt O'Toole wrote:

Stephen Harding wrote:

dgk wrote:

I read once that automobile manufacturers, during the beginning of
the urge to push cars on everyone, bought up trolley lines just so
they could close them down. They have done everything possible to
make public transportation as lousy as it can be.

Not entirely true.

Trolley lines where on their way out during the 1920's and 30's
anyways.

This is true. Unfotunate, but true.

Automobile manufacturers bought up some trolley lines with the
intention of replacing the trollies with buses; you know, that
"other" form of mass transit.

Personal cars to go to personal places didn't really become
widespread until post-WWII with the construction of the federal
highway system.

Los Angeles is the usual subject of this conspiracy theory, that auto, tire, and
oil companies bought up the trolley lines to dismantle them, and make everyone
dependent on cars. In fact, a partnership of GM, Firestone, and Standard Oil
did purchase Los Angeles' famous Red Car trolleys after WWII. But actually, it
was to hedge their bets with an uncertain future, by owning another piece of the
transportation pie in a rapidly growing city.

No, it was to sell the bus as a replacement for the rail cars.


Who knew -- would there be
another Great Depression, with no one able to afford cars? Would the postwar
peace last? Would steel prices rise? How about oil? Also,.the switch to buses
was probably inevitable, but they wanted in on the trolley market in case that
didn't happen. If it was profitable to build trolleys, they would have done
that too.

Nope, no profit in -operating- trolleys, that's why they had to go.



They kept the trolleys running for another decade or so, in spite of declining
ridership and huge losses. But the final nail in the coffin was the citizens of
Los Angeles banging down the doors of City Hall, demanding the trolleys be
removed because they were blocking traffic. Ultimately it was the public who
chose the automobile, all by themselves.

Funny, that's not how my grandmother and mother remember it, having lived
all their lives in LA....

--

-TTFN

-Steven