M is for mass transit systems

Northampton Subway Map When traveling, I tend to judge a city, in large part, based on the robustness of its mass transit system. When I lived in New York City for a mere four months in the summer of 1977, I became rather adept at getting around via the subways.

From the Citylab article Why Did America Give Up on Mass Transit? (Don’t Blame Cars): “One hundred years ago, the United States had a public transportation system that was the envy of the world. Today, outside a few major urban centers, it is barely on life support. Even in New York City, subway ridership is well below its 1946 peak. Annual per capita transit trips in the U.S. plummeted from 115.8 in 1950 to 36.1 in 1970, where they have roughly remained since, even as population has grown.”

In NYC, the aging infrastructure has caused much of the L line in Brooklyn to be overhauled. This will be a major disruption to the businesses in the area.

The Boston Globe notes: “Dozens of T stations are crumbling, corroding, and leaking, as revealed by a new, detailed inventory the feds now require transpo officials to keep. As reporter Adam Vaccaro writes: ‘…hundreds of MBTA properties — stations, garages, and parking lots — are in disrepair, from equipment that seems permanently broken to shabby surroundings that make the daily commute that much more unpleasant.'”

From the Citylab piece: “This [abandonment] has not happened in much of the rest of the world. While a decline in transit use in the face of fierce competition from the private automobile throughout the 20th century was inevitable, near-total collapse was not… [They slashed expenditures instead of] improving service to stay competitive. This drove even more riders away, producing a vicious cycle that led to the point where today, few Americans with a viable alternative ride buses or trains.”

I’ve gotten around fairly well without a car in San Francisco (1988), Atlanta (1995), San Diego (2003), and Washington, DC (2018). I can get around much of Albany sans motorized vehicle if I have to, though Sundays are tougher. Having a car in Toronto (2011) was actually a hindrance. The car was parked in the hotel lot, and we didn’t use it for five days.

Unfortunately, the American attitude, as Shooting Parrots pointed out, inspired an American company to come up with their Seat Saver’ range of fake food and drink spills “to discourage people sitting next to them on public conveyances.”

For ABC Wednesday

Author: Roger

I'm a librarian. I hear music, even when it's not being played. I used to work at a comic book store, and it still informs my life. I won once on JEOPARDY! - ditto. View all posts by Roger

7 thoughts on “M is for mass transit systems”

I was a frequent rider of the MBTA during my New England days. Back then, it was obvious that some of the equipment was older — the Blue Line, which ran from downtown past Logan Airport and points eastward, looked a lot more careworn than did the shiny Red Line cars up toward Cambridge — but none of it was ever scary.

To catch the city bus, I have to walk a mile through a hilly subdivision. It’s not a bad trek but it wouldn’t be easy to use if I had to rely on it for work or shopping. I’ve often heard people who move into the area how they miss the transit services of metropolitan areas, such as NYC. I always think the opposite, I’d hate to have to lug grocery bags home via public transporation but I guess it’s just a matter of what you’ve always known or get used to. Overall I prefer the freedom that a car gives. 🙂 Interesting look into one’s life who relies mostly on the mass transit system.

I am using Toronto’s transit system as my weekly theme for ABC Wednesdays! Drop by.

Wonderful article about PT ~ raises some good questions that I wonder about myself ~

Happy Day to you,
A ShutterBug Explores

A good public transport system is much needed.
Sadly, many cities are lacking such infrastructure.
Using private transport puts pressure on fossil-fuels and traffic-management.
Hope cities invest in such infrastructure and encourage public to use the same, rather than private transport.
M for Mexican, Mocktails, Mall…& much more :)- Anita