The Sabotaged Streetcar

So part of the reason I came to London was interest in immersing myself in public transportation, with hopes of bringing a newfound appreciation for it home with me. It was with this in mind that my cynicism kicked in and I began to wonder why "The Greatest Country on Earth" (yea, that's us) can't seem to figure out the merit in mass transit.

That's when I ran across an article detailing the surprisingly systematic deconstruction of streetcar systems in the early 20th Century...

In the 1920's, only 1 in 10 Americans drove their own vehicle, with the vast majority taking streetcars. Within 30 years, nearly every family owned a car. So what the hell happened?

Shortly after Ford began to monopolize the market with their automobiles (and their Fordism concepts, which ever so eloquently defined the capitalist production structure), General Motors responded with a covert campaign to undermine the popular rail-based public transit systems that were ubiquitous in and around the country’s bustling urban areas. They not only accumulated the support of other automobile-related companies, but altogether invested in National City Lines (NCL), which at that time operated the public transportation in over 80 American cities.

Once they had ownership of NCL, GM began the methodical dismantling of many streetcars and tracks, despite public opinion polls that showed 88 percent of the public favoring expansion of rail lines after World War II. They replaced the streetcars with buses, which ran neither efficiently nor smoothly, with hopes of people eventually opting out of public transportation in preference of a car. To aid in this transition, GM ignited an ad campaign depicting a nationwide trend away from rail - a trend that they themselves created. (A business scheme like that almost puts Ford's assembly line to shame!)

One could argue that GM was merely instigating an inevitable change - after all, this was the era of mass suburanization. However, you have to carefully analyze the timeline of events that unfolded.. and it doesn't hurt to see "surburbia" in the same cyncial, conspiracy perspective. The decision to destroy streetcars is one that they undoubtably thought would be better for their pockets as well the American sheep, but looking back and knowing that those automobiles would someday contribute to 45% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions makes the "beneficial" element of the change a little blurry.

GM was later instrumental in the creation of the National Highway Users Conference, which became the most powerful lobby in Washington. Highway lobbyists worked directly with lawmakers to craft highway-friendly legislation, and GM’s promotional films were showcasing America’s burgeoning interstate highway system as the realization of the so-called “American dream of freedom on wheels.”

I don't know about you, but I've become disechanted by that dream - it's a glorified ideal held only by those too blinded by constructed perceptions. Why is it that Americans rave about the independence achievable through cars and yet continue to succomb to traffic jams and high gas prices? I fail to see the value in preserving such a lifestyle.

The Good News? Mass transit ridership has grown 21 percent since 1995—faster than both vehicle and airline passenger miles logged over the same period. If the general public is informed enough to continue in this direction, a new demand is created. Or rather, a resurrection of a demand that was artificially extinguished 50 years ago.


Further Information:
Taken For A Ride (55-min film)
Forward Drive (book, Jim Motavalli)
Who Killed The Electric Car? (film)
Fast Food Nation (book, Eric Schlosser)
The Geography of Nowhere (book, James Howard Kunstler)