Metropolitan Transit in the 1980s: An Intergovernmental Challenge, 1984

(1984) Metropolitan Transit in the 1980s: An Intergovernmental Challenge, 1984. Transportation, Department of

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Abstract

Metropolitan transit is in transition. From its 1tatus as a largely private-sector conglomeration of trolleys, buses, and commuter rail lines prior to the 1960s, it has become predominantly public and intergovernmental. This transition, marked by private transit company failures, has seen the goals of metropolitan transit expand greatly, along with the associated public expenditures. The systems no longer simply transport paying customers for a profit, they attempt to reduce traffic congestion, air pollution, and noise; to conserve energy; and to provide improved mobility to the poor, the handicapped, the elderly, and others who often have not had ready access to the diverse opportunities offered throughout their counties. These newer publicly held goals all have tended to expand transit services and have demanded rapidly increasing public subsidies. The level of these subsidies and their sources are now being questioned as public resources at all levels have become increasingly scarce.