Revisiting the transportation crisis across America
Expansion attempts, capital redistribution, and the automobile
Christina Greer, UAR Co-Editor
Over the past several decades, local municipalities have worked with (and against) state governments to increase funding for public transport. Issues of transportation reform- just exactly who pays for existing and future infrastructure, how technology is incorporated into updating systems, and how revenues should be redistributed- have served as roadblocks for local, state, and federal elected officials as they think critically about expansion, equity, and redistributive policies pertaining to transportation policy.
As crucial as public transport is to so many residents of cities, large and small, the fights for adequate funding have largely existed in the shadow of debates surrounding personal automobile usage. There was a decline of urban mass transportation after World War II, and as a result, there was a growth of private automobile use and divestment in the expansion and maintenance of public transport. The rise of the automobile diverted ridership from buses, trains, and subways, and larger financial resources from transit systems. The lack of capital investment affected service outcomes for a myriad of Americans across the nation. The federal government provided highway subsidies which overshadowed the per capita transit subsidies that urbanized states and regions received.
Over time, municipalities have attempted to offset some of the fiscal gaps and think of ways to encourage automobile users to utilize public transport and/or help subsidize it. Somewhat controversial programs like congestion pricing have been a way to redistribute capital for varying transportation priorities. And in the mid twentieth century, the federal government even allowed local municipalities to use money for not just capital improvements but operating expenses as well.
This selection of texts draws allows us to reimagine the evolution of transportation politics and policy during periods of fiscal, political, and social crisis. As we think about what future funding of mass transit could and should be, we can analyze past obstacles and triumphs as we move toward more equitable transit policy on local, state, and federal levels.