How To Grow Mass Transit In A Car Centric Society

by Larry Lagarde

In all the world's great cities, public transportation or mass transit is viewed as essential to the well being of the metropolis; yet, in many North American communities, mass transit is struggling. Case in point: Allegheny County's Port Authority.
(Graphic: Drive to work; work to drive.)

For years, the Port Authority (P.A.) has struggled with financial challenges. Created by the Pennsylvania General Assembly in 1956 to plan and develop Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania's port facilities, the P.A. grew to be responsible for all bus service and commuter light rail serving the region. As suburbia grew, the P.A. added routes and traveled further to meet the demand. Due to insufficient governmental subsidies, the P.A.'s struggle to remain solvent has lead to a slow increase in fares and cut backs in service.

The Port Authority's plan to cut services & raise fares is the result of a century of car culture blinding us to the obvious. We all know that oil supplies are dwindling, pollution is triggering global climate change and traffic congestion creates road rage; yet, we continue to drive our cars. Why? Because in our emotion driven psyches, cars symbolize mobility, mobility means freedom & freedom means bliss.
(Photo: Bikes add freedom to mass transit.)

President Bush once said we were addicted to oil. In truth, we Americans are addicted to our cars. Like changing any ingrained habit, breaking ourselves of driving everywhere will be painful.

Until mass transit becomes more appealing, people will continue to rely upon their personal motor vehicles. To be appealing, mass transit must be reliable, affordable, safe, frequent and available throughout our metro areas.

Using a bike that folds makes mass transit feasible to more users by making transit stops more accessible from greater distances. Because they fold, riders can take their folding bikes onto the bus, subway, etc. As more people discover the advantages of folding bikes, use of mass transit will rise; however, more must be done to make mass transit attractive to a wider base of users.

My thanks go to Ed Heath for drawing attention to Pittsburgh's transportation issues via his blog, Cognitive Dissonance.