The Lost Subways of North America

Los Angeles actually used to have a massive electric railway system in the early 1900s, called the Red Car. Jake Berman, the author of The Lost Subways of North America (www.lostsubways.com/) , tells us about how, time after time, when North American cities seemed just inches away from having a robust, utopian future of fast, reliable, and convenient public transportation systems, something gets in the way. That thing is sometimes dysfunctional local politics, sometimes it’s bureaucracy. Sometimes it’s the way our infrastructure favors cars over mass transit, and too often, it’s racism.
The Lost Subways of North America (99percentinvisible.org/?p=42309)
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[@Dan-zz4jb]

Existing subway lines can be made to be automated and this is happening in many cities around the world.

[@user-uo7fw5bo1o]

Boston had 452 miles of streetcar lines most of which fed into the Green Line but all but 3 surface trolley lines were eliminated and 1 was trimmed, even though 3 grade separated light rail lines were built (Riverside, Union Square, Medford Tufts). Fewer trams operate inside the tunnel today than trolleys did decades ago yet travel times are longer and service more unreliable.