Why LA Destroyed Its World-Class Transit System - Cheddar Explains

[@peperoni_pepino]

I feel like this video makes a false comparison. The claim "Transit was not sustainable because it needs government funds to succeed." applies to car infrastructure as well: highways are entirely government funded and need to be regularly maintained. Public transit did not lose because it was inherently unsustainable, but because it didn't get any funding while car infrastructure did.

[@batliff]

Just another informercial.

[@RoseNinja9]

Great point! It is all about WHAT the government chooses to fund, not whether or not it needs government funding.

[@tonygiovannetti1131]

True, but there is a large difference in subsidy per mile traveled in auto on road vs rail. This is true even in dense rail environments of europe.

Also, we need to remember certain types of transportation infrastructure doesn't need to have a direct return, whether road, rail or something else. If the infrastructure enables commerce, directly or indirectly, then the government can recuperate the money from taxes on business that are doing better because of this. For me, indirect commerce includes the movement of people between where they live and where they work, along with people travelling between urban centres to broker deals. For this reason any subsidies should be done with a plan of how people can achieve travel faster and more conveniently, while keeping an open mind on methods of transportation.

[@calitaliarepublic6753]

@@tonygiovannetti1131 Yeah, road requires more subsidies per mile than rail.

[@bigguyCIA4u]

The NYC subway system was also initially privately funded , and it also faced similar issues in the 1930's with profitability. Such a shame that LA decided to completely scrap it instead of using public money to fund it

[@laurie7689]

As you pointed out, it was privately funded. That means that LA did not choose to scrap it. It means that the owners of the privately-funded street car system chose to scrap it, which was within their right to make that decision. Maybe if LA had offered to buy the defunct system from the owners, things would have been different. However, the owners still could have said "No".

[@TheMixCurator]

Apparently anything "publically funded" in the USA seems a bit too commie to many 🤷‍♂

[@TruztNoI]

Is all govt fault with bad city planning and burocracts and wasted tax fairs reason is a decline system make traffic worse....

[@coolboss999]

Yeah. The city ended up buying the transit system and funding it publicly. Also with everything those companies did for the subway, there was no possible way they could scrap it and abandon it all which makes sense.

[@jryde421]

@@laurie7689 la could of still built one and probably still could m.

[@jesusdachrist9192]

I am an American in London for graduate school, and the perception of public transportation is so different here. It is challenging to combat the historic driving culture of America, with the car being a metaphor for freedom and mobility. Folks in London, regardless of scocienecomic status, don't have a problem, but in America, its underfunded, and underutilized, so it gets a bad rep

[@SRanade]

In general Europe has better public transport compared to the US.

[@starventure]

Europe should not be compared to the US because the histories, particularly when it comes to race relations, are vastly different.

[@Soff1859]

@@starventure is there anything at all that isnt about race? There was no mention of that in the video. So how is this the singular europe vs america difference with regards to traffic infrastructure to you?

[@starventure]

@@Soff1859 It is infantile to try to discuss mass transit without taking racial relations into account. Dissect the term for a moment. “MASS transit”. The masses, the throngs, everyone…all forced together in little trains. All the races together in one place, all the cliques and classes. All the cultural differences on full display just waiting to offend one group and enable another. It is not transport; it’s a stick of dynamite waiting for someone to strike the match. You might have difficulty understanding this concept if you are from Europe, because race riots and urban flight of the kind that happened in in the USA are still unknown to you. Trust me, if Europe starts to resemble the USA in terms of demographics the same things will happen there.

[@racecardriverrr4201]

It's a shame us Brits don't have the same attitude to cycling (yet)

[@davy91101]

I am old enough that I grew up with the Pacific Electric. I took the Red Car to LA for a dime to go to downtown LA; I went the opposite direction to go to summer school in El Monte. Because I lived in Alhambra there was a local bus company that serviced the suburbs. Of course this was a long time ago, but I do believe that the demise of the PE was due in part to GM, Firestone and the then ownership of the LA Times. Having traveled in Europe where public transportation is available and cheap I found that I could avoid taxis and save a great deal of money plus get where I needed to go. I am too old to drive now and am delighted that i will never spend a minute stuck in traffic on a freeway because an accident or a car in trouble.

[@gumerzambrano]

Hey man I live in East Los!

[@elizabethramsey9295]

My 94 year old mother in law loved the Red Car to get out and about during the the 1940’s

[@hackman669]

Years ago they tear out the train for the car. Now they want the trains back?! I say if you need a train to fix your road ways simply call China rail. Best trains in the world, fast, easy and always on time!!!

[@alexanderfretheim5720]

No... the PE died because of the incompetence and short-sightedness of PE management. They were actually profitable during the Great Depression, and instead of using that opportunity to invest in the line and carry out the improvements that would've kept it useful, they pocketed the money and ignored the obvious signs that their line was slowly ceasing to be useful due to decreasing speeds. What's worse, by being so greedy, they allowed the highly skilled firms that had built the NYC, Boston and Chicago lines to go out of business as new subways stopped being built, with the result that America gradually forgot how to build subways, which is why a single mile of subway costs 1000 times as much (even after inflation) as it did in 1920.

[@daylightdaylight6612]

@@hackman669 the best trains are in Japan and Switserland

[@mats7492]

Ive been called poor and homeless for the fact that I use public transport and have never owned a car in my life.. That obviously happened in LA

[@lilbench5834]

In LA u Definitely get looked down upon if u ride the bus, At least Broke poor people ride beat down shit cars or Get a Toyota or Honda

[@CheapSquierBassPlayer]

That's not true.

[@themoviedealers]

Those people are disgusting.

[@coolboss999]

Are you actually serious? Over here in NYC, using public transportation isn't looked down upon. Something is wrong with people if they thinking using public transportation is considered "poor".

[@darkwoodmovies]

@@coolboss999 To be fair, NYC is the only place in America with reasonable public transit. If you take public transit in pretty much any other city, it sucks so bad that it really is usually the last resort.

[@StarryNightGazing]

American car brain is always a sight to behold. You'll interact with people entirely detached from reality who will defend their right to be stuck in traffic while building more and more roads to the death.

[@amgguy4319]

Fun Fact: Eminent Domail destroyed incredible Mansions, Homes and Neighbors, at public expense so that private auto companies could profit. Capitalism Republican Style.

[@bigguyCIA4u]

Highways are abhorrent, anti-human monstrosities.

[@StarryNightGazing]

@@bigguyCIA4u I mean, cross country highways are probably a necessity. But cross city? Burn that shit to the ground.

@@bigguyCIA4u They have their purpose, but have no place through a city centre, especially when a state DoT is making the decisions, while ignoring the opinions of the residents of said city. I am thinking of Houston as an example, where the DoT doesn't appear to care what the residents of the city think.

[@chromebomb]

people would kill they own mother for a parking spot closer to wal mart

[@artcurious807]

If you travel to Asia or Europe there are dozens of countries that have solved this problem. Cars provide independence but they have been given way too much priority. There has to be layers of transportation choices. From walking to biking to taxis to busses to light rail to high speed rail. Forcing everyone into just one transportation choice is and was a mistake and it’s unsustainable.

[@0Defensor0]

I find it kinda funny that Americans always brag about having the "freedom" to "choose" even when their options are limited to one.

[@starventure]

@@0Defensor0 The option we chose has unlimited freedom in that there is no schedule to be followed, personal space is protected, there is no restriction on bringing luggage or cargo, no restrictions on last mile travel to remote areas and with electric cars now becoming more common, the ability to travel cheaper. In addition, cars allow for single stage journeys with no connections required, whereas with mass transit…you have to connect, change buses or trains, lug belongings needlessly from one track to another just because that’s how the system runs.

[@racecardriverrr4201]

@@starventure What does electric cars (aka a coal battery if you're in the USA) being more common have to do with traveling cheaper?

[@renebaebae0600]

@@starventure unlimited freedom means having to wake up early and sacrificing our sleep quality so that you wont be late to work/school because otherwise youd be stuck up in traffic and be late? And living approxinately hours and hours of our life on the road, stuck up in traffic?

[@RealSergiob466]

@@0Defensor0 Yeah it's car infested area in most United States and Canada

[@aninjaguardian]

If you're American, the best way to get perspective is to travel to other countries and expose yourself to their public transit. I went to Japan for 2 weeks and I know firsthand how reliable and widespread their public transport is.

[@CheapSquierBassPlayer]

With the constant stream of shit talk about the US from other nations, I wouldn't travel internationally if I could do so for free.

[@KuroshiKun]

@@CheapSquierBassPlayer maaaaan people talk big on the internet regardless of the country. It's not like that if you'd just leave your backyard. Traveling internationally is amazing. Provides a whole new perspective on things and insights on how we can further improve our nation.

[@KuroshiKun]

100%. Japan was game-changing for me. Dense, walkable cities, Rail systems that go pretty much everywhere, high speed rail all around the nation that I could just show up to and hop on omg it was truly a dream and what I want California to be.

[@CheapSquierBassPlayer]

@@KuroshiKun You don't realize how many foreigners are pretending to be polite to you.

[@darkwoodmovies]

@@CheapSquierBassPlayer As an American, it's not shit-talk. If anything, it's pretty mild because they can't even imagine the extend of the bullshit that goes on here.

[@AverytheCubanAmerican]

LA then: Who needs a car in LA? We got the best public transportation system in the world! LA now: *Bless your heart* This is why I'm glad Newark and Jersey City has light rail systems. They might not be perfect but they're better than nothing when compared to other North American cities. When I lived in Jersey City, I used the light rail all the time because it was just that convenient and covered so much of an area. The majority of Jersey City uses public transit and it doesn't take long to see why. It's an honorary borough of NYC. And Red Hook in Brooklyn almost revived their streetcar system, they bought Boston streetcars...but they're just sitting and rusting away.

[@Ry_TSG]

How is living in Jersey City? I'm considering it as an option

[@CraigFThompson]

​@@Ry_TSGAccording to the late comedian Jackie Cannon, the bathrooms have toilets that really flush!

[@lunasilly]

I live in Melbourne, here we have one of the most used tram lines in the world, I couldn't imagine the city without it. Public transport can take you wherever you want in the city and around, it's an hour to drive 40km but it only takes 25 minutes on the tram

[@dgonzales9360]

Yup! I love Melbourne because its so easy to get around with trams and trains. No car needed!

[@jasoncw455]

I live in toronto. Our streetcars need more priority but I’m so glad our city kept them. You can get anywhere south of bloor with them and they’re really quite nice. So much better than busses, couldn’t live without them.

[@afropenguin]

Don't forget Melbourne has the largest in the world (thats due to London and Sydney closing theirs)

[@jasoncw455]

@@afropenguin It's really too bad how many cities closed their systems. The USA could have amazing transit to work with if they kept theirs. We got rid of some in Toronto, but thankfully public pushback was so strong that we ended up keeping around 10. Now we have 12 with potentially more coming in the future.

[@sydneysmooth21]

Sorry to burst your bubble, but whilst Melbourne does have the world's largest tram network, it is also the slowest, with average peak hour speeds as slow as 11km/hr. For example the 75 tram from Church Sr Richmond to Vermont South takes on average 60 minutes vs 29 minutes driving and that's only an 18km distance. I lived in Richmond for 11 years and my morning tram commute from Coppin/Bridge Rd to Collins/Swanston (4.2km) would take a minimum of 20 minutes averaging to 30 minutes plus in peak. For a tram to travel 40km in 25 mins would mean the tram is traveling at 80+km/hr which is faster than any tram goes, pretty much globally. I love the transit system but it is by no way faster than driving.

[@Rumade]

The car dependency really puts me off visiting the USA as a tourist. Who wants to deal with driving some hire car on unfamiliar streets with laws you may not know? I'd rather hop on a tram, train, or bus, so that I can see and enjoy the place I'm visiting. Last month I was in Dublin and loved the trams. Super convenient, fast, clean, and affordable.

[@CheapSquierBassPlayer]

It's a good thing you told everybody.

[@josephfisher426]

It depends where you want to go. Savannah is walkable once you get the taxi into the city. Philly has good transit. Most cities on Amtrak's east coast lines from Virginia northward are pretty well set up for access without a car.

[@belg4mit]

There are places you easily visit in the U.S without a car: Boston, Chicago, New York City, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle, Washington D.C.

[@paulj6756]

@@belg4mit Chicago's 'L' system has become a crime-ridden rolling homeless shelter. It's disgusting.

[@BobbyUnverzagt]

One thing I love about buses is that the driver can help you get around. In Chicago the bus drivers are happy to give you directions to your destination, such as what stop to get off at or what bus to transfer to.

[@jeffmorse645]

There used to be street car companies in nearly ever city and many towns in California back in the day. Bay Area, Sacramento, Fresno - you name it. Even my small town in the Sacramento Valley had one for decades that ran along the main street from an older residential area to the downtown. There was only about 4,000 people here at the time.

[@LauRoot892]

Morse 👍🏻

[@KRYMauL]

Yep, that’s why we should be bringing back the streetcar real estate tycoons. Someone who owns apartments or other middle density infrastructure would have an incentive to make streetcar suburbs.

[@TohaBgood2]

We need to bring back all the rail transit that we lost! We've actually done a lot over the last 20-30 years. Believe it or not, California is something of a national leader in terms of bringing back rail transit We've built a few new light rail systems in Sacramento, San Jose, San Diego, and SF (Muni Metro light rail vs streetcars). We brought back and improved some of the intercity trains (Capitol Corridor, Pacific Surfliner, San Joquins). We just need to keep investing in rail transportation until there's a critical mass and we can all start using transit more than driving.

[@jimvikse7453]

I'm 76. I grew up in LA, and worked downtown as a kid I saw the whole transition take place before my eyes. I'm still pissed!

[@LauRoot892]

Hello 👋 Jim 🥰

[@jasmirris]

My mom grew up in East LA saw and feels the same!

[@cashewnuttel9054]

You should have been a politician to stop it.

[@pamelahomeyer748]

There's been a great deal of research on this and it was the car companies who went around buying up small Transit companies all over the United States and then putting them out of business

[@leechowning2712]

It's entertaining that even after a criminal conviction we still stick with the claim that it was a conspiracy theory. It was acknowledged in court that they wanted to convert as many lines as possible to bus. But we don't want to offend our multi-billion dollar companies.

[@LauRoot892]

@@leechowning2712 Lee 👋

[@JuanWayTrips]

I live in LA, and you really have to pick your neighborhood carefully if you want to use transit. If I lived a few blocks north, using transit wouldn't be a reliable option.

[@sharkyshark6760]

Facts

[@knmonlinemedia]

Yup. I don't drive. So every job or place I lived had to be near a bus line 😐

[@themoviedealers]

I agree but adding more transit, and more importantly, new transit adjacent apartments, will improve things over time.

[@amayo8610]

Which neighborhoods are good if you want to use transit?

[@TohaBgood2]

Believe it or not, this is actually a monumental improvement. The fact that it's now possible to find a neighborhood in LA where you can live practically car free is actually incredible. This wasn't the case even 20-30 years ago. Now we just need to add a ton more transit and continue improving the stuff that has already taken root and we're golden!

[@TheElizondo88]

There was a brief window in the 1960s when the MTA almost built a county-owned transit system over some of the more heavily traveled former rail car lines, but that was bogged down in bureaucratic squabbles over what to build (monorail, light-rail, or rubber-tire metro) and exactly where to build it. Most of the existing subway / light-rail go through the proposed routes, but the first lines were not built until the 90s and has since been expanded at a snails pace.

[@themoviedealers]

It took the New York subway 50 years to reach it's current size, so the LA subway is not going at a snails pace comparitively. (First elevated lines in New York were built around 1890...some still in service. Most subway lines were constructed by 1940...small additions in 1967, 1988 and 2017.)

[@edwardmiessner6502]

If I was running the show and was able to persuade other people I would have all three types built by now: monorail for the elevated lines, light-rail for the surface lines, and rubber-tired métro for the subway lines.

[@CraigFThompson]

​@@themoviedealersIt must be considered, however, that New York City built it's first line of nine miles, using hand tools and explosives, in just FOUR YEARS.... LA built less than four miles and took ten years!

[@IKEMENOsakaman]

I hate it when some Americans look down on those who take public transport as if it's something horrendous. Sure, it's horrendous because it's seriously under funded, but those people think as if they are above us because they can afford a car and a parking space.

[@sportbikejesus]

Public transportation is gross bc of the people, not the system

[@Felix-nz7lq]

@@sportbikejesus Say you’re afraid of minorities without saying you’re afraid of minorities

[@quesotamale]

@@Felix-nz7lq I’m black and I agree. It’s typically nasty asf.

[@sportbikejesus]

@@Felix-nz7lq I don’t care what race you are. If I don’t know you, I don’t want to sit beside you on the way to work.

[@Jompe69]

@@sportbikejesus How can you even go to work, grocery stores or idk gym(?) if you don't trust any kind of people? How have you been able to live in a society for this long already?

[@pimpnamedslickback7780]

The only city in the US that is truly world class is NYC. It's a shame that the auto and oil industry has basically just turned major cities into rest stops on an endless highway. I hope cities continue to invest in public transportation. Cities are for ppl not cars

[@starventure]

Cities are for minorities and recent immigrants. Suburbs are for whites. Race riots have done more harm to the cause of mass transit than the automobile industry. Ppl don’t move away from good transit unless there is a good reason for them to leave.

[@RealSergiob466]

Yeah the only city in the US and unfortunately the cost of living is so expensive

[@UltimateAzumanger]

But yet some areas of the city are underserved by public transit. Look at Staten Island, for example. Most of the island can only be reached by bus, which isn't the best mode of transit for a city.

[@RealSergiob466]

@@UltimateAzumanger yeah it doesn’t directly to and from NJ

[@pimpnamedslickback7780]

@Zaydan Naufal it’s world class by accessibility etc. The system is over 120 yrs old it’s not possibly to upgrade it to modern autonomous trains at least not with current political climates

[@SupremeLeaderKimJong-un]

While Los Angeles may no longer have the red car trolley, you can ride on a replica version of it if you go to Disney's California Adventure in nearby Anaheim. As part of the construction of Buena Vista Street in 2012, the park's new entrance area, they built a trolley line connecting the entry area to GOTG: Mission Breakout. And our glorious Pyongyang still has trams. We have four lines. Three in operation, with a special fourth meter gauge line ran by the military that goes from Samhung station (Kim Il-sung University) to the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, the resting place of my father and grandpa. The three main lines are operated with Czechoslovak-made trams (including domestic-made trams on the chassis of the Czechoslovak ones). While the Kumsusan line is operated with a Swiss tram retired from the Zurich system

[@CraigFThompson]

The Red Car at San Pedro needs to be restored and EXTENDED!

[@jaridkeen123]

American citys were beautiful until they destroyed them for cars

[@daliamosesp]

it's honestly just frustrating that american cities don't have world class leading public transporation systems. truly shocks me every time i research the topic. the over reliance on cars and constantly expanding motorways is just criminal.

[@StevenAcunaBG05]

The solution is simple: 1. More multi unit housing in centralized communities 2. More rail support to different communities and tourists destinations. 3. Get rid of every freeway except for the 10 and the 5. 4. Get Hollywood, the industry not the city, to advertise the public transportation system as inclusive to all, not just for homeless, black, or Hispanics.

[@CheapSquierBassPlayer]

If you want to live in europe, you'll actually have to move there.

[@StevenAcunaBG05]

@@CheapSquierBassPlayer no thank you, i enjoy being a free man. Plus you guys have a bad track record of killing each other over there.

[@darkwoodmovies]

I think this all gets stuck with point number 1. Multi-unit housing will never happen in LA because of the NIMBYs that took over so-called "liberal" California.

[@filonin2]

What if I don't want neighbors on my roof and under me and on all sides and actually want a yard and place to call my own? Your solution destroys America.

[@Mgameing123]

@@filonin2 Well what if ALOT OF PEOPLE JUST WANT CHEAPER HOUSING!

[@Hollandstation]

As a Dutch person that loves making videos about transport & infrastructure, I think it's a shame that those street cars no longer exist. but the highways seem fun to drive on once :)

[@gumaming]

Sure just once to experience the crazy traffic of LA. From a Californian, just enjoy the drive through Highway 1 or enjoy the real freedom of driving outside of the cities - on the road to parks in Montana, Utah, Arizona.

[@RaymondHng]

San Francisco has many historical streetcars/trams from around the world in operation.

[@marco_grt4460]

@@RaymondHng one of them came from Milan (Italy)

[@RaymondHng]

@@marco_grt4460 Not one, but _eleven_ . “Peter Witt” streetcars built in 1928 ran in 15 U.S. cities, including New York, Chicago, Dallas, Philadelphia, Detroit, and Los Angeles. The design was also exported to world cities such as Toronto, Mexico City, Madrid, and three Italian cities, Naples, Turin, and Milan. In 1984, one Milan tram came to San Francisco for the summer Trolley Festivals that led to construction of the F-line. This model designed by Cleveland street railway commissioner Peter Witt proved so reliable that Muni obtained ten more in 1998 to meet the huge F-line rider demand. Over the years, Muni has systematically upgraded these trams with modern GPS navigation and other improvements, but they still retain their distinctive Italian flavor. They are the second most common type of streetcar in Muni's historic fleet after the PCC streetcars. *Car No.* 1807 Operational. Painted in original 1920s Milan yellow and white livery. 1811 Out of Service. Painted in original 1920s Milan yellow and white livery. 1814 Operational, Painted in 1930s-1970s Milan two-tone green livery. 1815 Operational. Painted in current orange Milan livery. 1818 Operational. Painted in 1930s-1970s Milan two-tone green livery. 1834 Undergoing restoration. First Milan tram acquired by Muni, 1983. Undergoing modification to match operating characteristics of other Milan trams. Painted in current orange Milan livery. 1856 Operational. Painted in current orange Milan livery. 1859 Operational. Painted in current orange Milan livery. 1888 Under Repair. Body work completed; has been repainted in 1930s-1970s two-tone Milan green livery. 1893 Operational. Painted in current orange Milan livery. 1895 Operational. Painted in current orange Milan livery.

[@cakeisyummy5755]

Can you leave a link to your Videos?

[@dgonzales9360]

The thing sad about LA and US (except NY) in general is that, the public transpo sucks. You must have a car to get around or uber (its also so expensive). Cities like Singapore or Hongkong or Melbourne has an extensive line of rails which makes it easier for everybody to go from one place to another without the need for cars.

[@KuroshiKun]

Melbourne? Idk about any Australian cities being a great example of an amazing public transportation city. Most Australian and Canadian cities have the same issues we do. I don't think Melbourne's rail network is all that much, if any, better than LA's. A better example probably would've been the most obvious to me, Tokyo. Or I suppose really any major city in east Asia or Europe.

[@themoviedealers]

The bus only public transit in LA pre 1990 was dire. We now have the third largest rail network in North America so it's much improved. Unfortunately the LA Metro area is so spread out it could use a system 3 or 4 times as large.

[@Ricky911_]

Boston also has some great transportation. It's the most walkable city in the US after all. Just felt like putting that out there.

[@coolboss999]

Thanks for excluding NYC.

[@spicychad55]

Hong Kong actually has a profitable pub transport system. People can move around very quickly and every train station there has commercial so businesses can fund the train stations to ease the burden of tax payers!

[@seasong7655]

Public transport will always lose money, but the alternatives are even more expensive

[@stephanc6138]

depends on the country.

[@Jompe69]

@@stephanc6138 Is Tokyo, Japan the only exception? As far as I know it is. BUT it's not just about transport on itself, train/metro stations are a huge hub of great commericial space. People are more likely to move near a place with a good public transport etc.

[@Soff1859]

@@Jompe69 hongkongs public transport system actually makes money. Mostly from renting out shops inside their stations, which only works because of the insane real estate value there. I thought that was the only one. However on a societal level it is of course hugely beneficial to have. Kind of like an army, which only costs money but provides an invaluable public good.

[@ianhomerpura8937]

@@Soff1859 and renting out the stations are insanely profitable because government (and sometimes private) housing are built on top of them, ensuring foot traffic all day long.

[@dennyroozeboom4795]

In the Netherlands there are some lines that make plenty profit though margins are slim and on lines that aren’t as busy they break even or have to make the money from the renting of station facilities.

[@David-bb5ho]

I live in LA and it’s heartbreaking to see how much highways and car infrastructure in general negatively impacted the city.

[@LauRoot892]

David 👋

[@lavalampluva55401]

Most cities in the US HAD a good transit system that went down hill. Back in the day most people took street cars, subways.... But today there is a stigma to mass transit. People prefer to ride alone in their own cars. Even the number of people who carpool has dropped significantly. In Minneapolis/St. Paul there was a street car company called "Twin City Rapid Transit Company". It ran everywhere and was fairly inexpensive to ride. It had gone through a few different owners. The last streetcar was famously photographed alight behind Fred Ossanna and James Towley as Towley presented Ossanna with a check. There were even streetcar boats used on Lake Minnetonka, which they had sunk. One was recovered in the 1980s and was repaired and now is being used as a tourist attraction. By the mid-1950s It was purchased by Carl Pohlad (former Minnesota Twins owner, and the founder of Radisson Hotels. He immediately dismantled the rail track system and began operating a bus system. Though some were sold to other cities. There is one which is still being used in San Francisco.

[@LauRoot892]

J 👋

[@michaelbenardo5695]

The stigma is that people don't like motor coaches. They don't like the rough ride and the loud rattles, but they WILL ride a street car or an interurban train.

[@LauRoot892]

@@michaelbenardo5695 🙄

[@CraigFThompson]

​@@michaelbenardo5695Btw, did you know that a bus is just an automobile?!

[@ShadowRaptor8]

LA public transit leaves much to be desired but it's not completely terrible. I've been able to get around Pasadena/Glendale/Highland Park areas reliably on the Metro for years.

[@whathell6t]

@Neil Deep But you don’t even use the Metro and live in Immigrant neighborhoods of Los Angeles.

[@whathell6t]

@Neil Deep I wasn’t asking for your private information. You haven’t used all of Metro or gone to Figueroa Corridor, Pico-Union, Green Meadows, Central-Alameda, Paicoma, El Sereno, Harbor Gateway, Wilmington, Vermont Square, El Salvador Corridor, etc.

[@Silentmissile]

@@whathell6t yup

[@darthwikkie]

00:28: "It may come as a surprise that L.A. used to have one of the country's - if not the worlds - public transportation systems." Me: A surprise? Only to someone who never saw Who Framed Roger Rabbit or understood that Judge Doom's plan to destroy public transportation to build a freeway was described as so insane only a toon could have dreamt it up. Oh, also, spoilers.

[@allenwiddows7631]

When I grew up in Pasadena CA in the mid-1970s-early-1980s, the whole LA area was served primarily by the Southern California Rapid Transit District (SCRTD). In 1976, they completely revamped their system, which had been a hodge-podge of the old local city transit systems they had absorbed over the years. The new grid network was designed to make sure that anyone who lived in the metro area was no more than ¼ mile from a bus line, and that most of the buses on each line ran every 20-30 minutes. At that point, one could ride from Malibu in the west to San Bernardino and Riverside in the east, Disneyland in the south to the San Fernando and San Gabriel Valleys in the north, with connecting transit to the local systems that were still around (Long Beach, Santa Monica, Montebello, OCTD in Orange County, and so on). I took advantage of it many a weekend or summer day; it was slow (as buses are), but I could go anywhere I needed to go easily-if I missed a bus, there was another along in 20 minutes. The problem, which is why it changed when MTA took over, was that there were a lot of empty buses on the less-used lines-zero revenue-and soon those lines vanished or went to 60-90-minute intervals between buses. It got to the point (mid-2000s) that I stopped taking the bus because it was no longer convenient-the ¼-mile goal and frequent buses were long gone and more lines were still on the chopping block.

[@LauRoot892]

Allen ❤️

[@TohaBgood2]

The problem with that model is that it is physically impossible to provide that level of service without massive subsidies. Busses are surprisingly expensive compared to rail. The operator costs are pretty crazy, especially in an expensive metro area. Needless to say, this kind of a system only survives until the next economic downturn. That's why this shift to higher capacity modes (metro, light rail) and a hub and spoke system is much better. It's actually cheaper per rider, and is both faster and more reliable. Now we just need a lot more of it! We need to bring back as much of the light rail as possible and add some subway/metro for good measure. Once enough of the area is covered by this transit it will take off. But before critical mass it's really hard to get around on an incomplete system. You end up taking a lot of ubers or waiting for a lot of busses that come once an hour

[@empirestate8791]

Literally all they had to do was run the streetcars in dedicated lanes as opposed to mixed-traffic and build denser housing near the stations. It's worked pretty much every time.

[@RaymondHng]

Five San Francisco Municipal Railway streetcar lines (J, K, L, M, N) survive to this day for 100 years. The right-of-way tracks and tracks in tunnels going underground the largest hills in San Francisco may be a contributing factor.

[@Jeff-uj8xi]

@@RaymondHng And the MUNI has a great electric trolley coach system, powered by hydro electric generation. The trolley coaches glide up steep hills quietly, inexpensively and efficiently.

[@RaymondHng]

@@Jeff-uj8xi Those were former streetcar lines operated by the private company Market Street Railway (1857-1944). After the company folded, its assets and services were acquired by the city-owned San Francisco Municipal Railway and converted to electric trolleybus lines (1 through 8, 14, 22, 24, 31, 33). Other lines were converted to motor coach or discontinued. Two cable car lines were integrated into today's cable car system.

[@austinhernandez2716]

People say that public transportation sucks today and use that as an argument against it entirely. That's like saying the automobile sucked a hundred years ago because there were no highways. Also, public transportation isn't enough. The city also has to be made more walk able, because if not, then there's no use in public transportation because once you get off then you'll get stuck. Also, the market failed at public transportation? Wow, who would've guessed that was going to happen...

[@zackakai5173]

It's amazing how widespread that kind of thinking is in America today. "We shouldn't fund public healthcare because public healthcare sucks because it's underfunded." GENIUS fucking "logic" right there, isn't it?

[@Novusod]

The reason the Pacific Electric went out of business has to do with LAND and how they derived their profits. Before they built even a single street car line the real estate tycoon bought up much of the cheap land outside of LA. Mostly farms and wild bush country at the time. Then they connected the countryside to the center of the city with street cars. After this was done the land values shot up. Pacific Electric began to sell off this land and pocketed the difference in price as profit. They bought the land cheap before there were any rail connections and then sold it at high marked up price after the street car lines were built. The problem is this business model was not sustainable in the long term. After about 30 or 40 years Pacific Electric ran out of land to sell. So there was no more money coming in from land sales. They had to make profits just from selling passenger tickets but they never made a single penny selling tickets. The result was the fares had to go UP. This led to a massive decline in ridership which cause them to go bankrupt.

[@kerrmapolice]

source?

[@garricksl]

@@kerrmapolice HK MTR has the similar model but they run apartment management board and office leases.

[@aodhganmerrimac]

Many early lines has similar problems, so they then built amusement parks, ball rooms & picnic areas to attract week-end ridership. This is why to keep fare low public ownership was deemed necessary. And THIS is why all the modern schemes to private public transit as a profit making venture are total BS!

[@garricksl]

@@aodhganmerrimac not true! Pacific Electric was a bad landlord! And LA didn’t help out was bad either. BART is a good scam because they would have a good landlord!

[@garricksl]

@@aodhganmerrimac MTR farebox recovery is more than 125%. So Pacific Electric fare could be even cheaper. I don’t know how a tramline company keep selling land and not be a commercial office developer

[@javianjohnson8746]

Today, there is NO WAY you can optimally live in Los Angeles without a car.

[@themoviedealers]

A crock. I've been doing it for ten years. If I really indisputably need a car, I rent one. I do that about once a year maximum.

[@themoviedealers]

(Or get an Uber once in a while.)

[@darkwoodmovies]

@@themoviedealers May I ask how? I don't live in LA but I've visited, and there's definitely almost no option than driving to get to where I needed to go.

[@bradley8575]

You can it’s just not great compared to big cities with transit like NYC London and Tokyo

[@choco1490]

Speak for yourself, born and raised here, never owned a car and I have no desire to get one. I take the train into downtown where I work and walk everywhere else. I am thinking of getting an electric bike to get to the places I can’t walk to. Car-dependency might have been the norm 20 years ago, but LA is changing

[@adambuesser6264]

What will happen if the city remove highway lanes for BRT lanes?

[@LauRoot892]

Adam 👋

[@jeffallen7909]

For anyone who's interested, you can see some of the old Pacific Electric rail cars at the railroad museum in Perris. They used to keep them in a couple of old out buildings there. It's kind of like an old railcar boneyard. Almost sad in a way.

[@jeffallen7909]

@@LauRoot892 Nah, don't think so. Good luck!

[@DCMarvelMultiverse]

America was coming out of the post war recession. We also had begun hoarding resources so those resources could be kept from the Soviets. The solution? Spend, waste, consume.

[@ian22222]

My great great grandmother used to take the Pacific Electric red cars from the San Gabriel Valley to downtown every day. To this day, there is a relic of the red cars' existence in Duarte: wooden rail ties are laid in the ground vertically along the entire distance of the recreation trail going from Buena Vista Street to Royal Oaks Park at Vineyard Avenue. Not to mention the quirk of Olive Avenue in Monrovia being abnormally wide, since the tracks went right through there.

[@LauRoot892]

Bogie 💕

[@edyann]

I miss Los Angeles. I hope I get to go again one day.

[@jamesparson]

Once again Pacific Electric gets all of the attention. Los Angeles Railway deserves much more respect because 1. It carried more people and 2. It lasted two years longer. 3. It ran trolley buses which could have been the start of a vast trolley bus network and 4. It went on 1st St near Purgatory Pizza, or at least it would have.

[@Jeff-uj8xi]

It's a real shame that the LA electric trolley coach system was scrapped in favor of noisy, polluting, wasteful diesel buses. With the cost of diesel fuel now, don't they wish they still had a network of trolley coaches !!

[@jamesparson]

@@Jeff-uj8xi Most (all) buses are CNG powered, but you point remains.

[@LauRoot892]

@@Jeff-uj8xi Jeff👋

[@anthonywatts2033]

Start charging car drivers the real cost of the road and freeway network and watch car usage plummet.

[@LauRoot892]

Watts 👋

[@MrVomora]

The car & tire companies, along with the City of Los Angeles worked together to dismantle the city's transit system. The main reason was because of money.

[@Jeff-uj8xi]

The main reason was corporate greed !! People were bribed, paid off to accept the dirty deed.

[@henrytong8707]

The reason is PE did not keep up with technology. The max speed is 25 mph. At that rate it would take 4 hrs to get from LA to Newport Beach

[@gpdewitt]

There was an additional factor that helped wipe out the lines. As car use grew, transit times lengthened due to grade crossings until average red car speed dropped to less than 9mph. It became faster to drive than ride. This still holds true for the line from 7th street down to Long Beach. Faster to drive most times. BTW, I was on that last red car run.

[@LauRoot892]

Gary 👋

[@lorrygoth]

And all the people who couldn't afford cars are forced into yet another service that is being devalued because it services the poor.

[@LauRoot892]

Goth👋

[@hopehowell4338]

I don't understand why people care if a bus drives past their house or if it's an apartment building next door. No one minds a school bus driving around, how it a city bus much different. But then again I live in Michigan where public transit is almost non existant. If you don't have a car you are stuck. Outside of Detroit or Ann Arbor its hard to even get a taxi if you call ahead of time. It's hard on the poor and financially struggling.

[@ianhomerpura8937]

NIMBYs and their paranoia on property values.

[@hopehowell4338]

@@ianhomerpura8937 I blame the HOA mantality. Who cares if the house next door is a clone of yours. A good part of property valued is subject to what society decides is valuable.

[@LauRoot892]

@@hopehowell4338 👋💕

[@Ugapiku]

It's insane how good it was, not only it could have made money from tourism, but also made less traffic and less polution and noise polution and so on...

[@michaelbenardo5695]

The city of Los Angeles could have acquired the lines and rolling stock as LARy and PE abandoned them/converted them to buses.

[@luislaplume8261]

Pacific Electric Railways was an interurban trolley company. Those trolleys were built for long trips and faster speeds and that is why they were so big. Los Angeles Railways was for local service to Downtown Los Angeles and the surrounding neighborhoods.

[@cameronf3343]

The biggest issue with public transit is definitely it’s perception over here. While the US’ might’ve been the best in the world back then a century ago, now, the perception is very different from that old scene’s “why would we need a car?” The problem is personal cars are, absent of all logic, seen as one of the columns of success over here. Buses are for poor people and trains are for slow people. If we changed that faulty notion, to public transit is for efficient people, it’d change real fast.

[@Bobrogers99]

As development spread out from the city, billions were invested in highways, encouraging more urban sprawl, instead of updating the rail transit. In places like New York City there wasn't as much open space for new development or to build more highways, so rail transit was improved to service the already-compact area.

[@LauRoot892]

Bob 👋😒

[@s9360321]

Cities across US are designed to be car centric by its zoning codes. As if cities are designed to serve cars not human beings. There are many youtube channel also talked about this topic.

[@77Catguy]

Not quite accurate. First of all, these two systems--the "red cars" and the "yellow cars"--had a separate history. Huntington actually sold off his controlling interest in his Red Car system in 1911, whereupon the Southern Pacific railroad took it over and--with the inclusion of other outlying street rail systems--consolidated all under the Pacific Electric banner. In the deal to sell his interurban system, Huntington received a controlling interest in the "Yellow Car" system which he retained for the rest of his life--although over time several routes were dismantled. Only after the system became part of a public utility in 1958 did that agency scrap the remaining streetcar routes, plus two trolley bus routes that ran for a short time. So in the end, it was the Southern Pacific Railroad and the owners of Huntington's estate which made separate deals to the final owners who chose to scrap the systems. For S.P.'s part, only the passenger service provided by the P.E. was sold off. Freight operations continued on most routes. The P.E. brand and electric catenary even survived for a while. Some lines are still in freight service--so that one can hardly say that they were "unprofitable." Only the yellow car system essentially disappeared since it had very little dedicated trackage as a true "streetcar" system. So to the points: the idea that Huntington dismantled his system after he built and sold off the land in the suburbs he created is a myth. The willing sellers were the S.P. and those who controlled Huntington's estate. Lightly used branch lines began to go out of service as early as 1925, but in the end a core system still existed. That again focuses attention on General Motors, tire sellers and National City Lines, all of which played a part in hastening the demise of both systems in one way or another. Still the systems themselves could not effectively compete with the car culture and massive investment in roads and freeways that were being promoted at the time--all of which were actually a good thing. Up to the time of Reagan's governorship, California did a good job of keeping up with vitally necessary infrastructure projects needed for its rapidly expanding population. Ceasing such investment has left California in its sorry state infrastructure-wise ever since. What was needed though was a balanced approach that could have rehabilitated and modernized core passenger rail infrastructure so we could have had the best of both services. Sadly that proved not to have been the case.

[@jedhawkins1769]

Because of the brutal traffic, let's bring back the transit system to make travel much easier to get around in LA.

[@zackakai5173]

It's hilarious how people are so anti-public transit because they don't want to use tax money to fun it, but they'll happily pay far MORE tax dollars to keep endlessly repaving roads. A well-positioned rail line can carry far more people than a six or eight-lane highway can, and is cheaper to maintain in the long run.

[@Yolwoocle]

I'm watching this on a tram in France. Great video, Cheddar!

[@matthewda1623]

Realistically speaking, most public transportation systems, and highways were built without low income and communities of color in mind. From Philly, to Chicago, to Los Angeles, entire neighborhoods were destroyed, freeways put right in the middle, and that wasn't because of the most efficient routes being through those neighborhoods. Redlining ruined lives, slashed people's equity, and left generations struggling to find their communities again and retrieve their stolen wealth. It isn't a conspiracy for business. It's not a corporate conspiracy. It's a racially motivated way to keep white neighborhoods white, and neighborhoods of color separate by building massive commuting infrastructure in between communities

[@regulate.artificer_g23.mdctlsk]

Massive commuting infrastructure like highways and... more highways. Oh, it's not just highways? Oh, yeah! There's interchanges, too.

[@squidgepus]

I can sum this video up in three words. Some rich dude. There we have it, the reason most things that benifit society are destroyed. Rich people who believe they aren't rich enough.

[@kindredg]

Great piece except for the myth that "habit" is the reason people drive in LA. I love public transit and live in Echo Park, a neighborhood with not one but three streets near me that used to have street cars running down them. Now these are replaced by busses but the routes are not always straightforward-- for example, about a year ago Metro consolidated, cutting the only bus line that would take me to Union Station, as well as making me walk much further to the bus that I would take to Hollywood, UCLA, or my closest train station, MacArthur Park. My daughter takes the city bus to school but the bus she takes only runs every 30 minutes so if she misses it, I could drive there and back before the next bus even arrives!! Metro's solution to dropping ridership seems to always be to cut service. It takes me 15 minutes to get to work by car, but 75 minutes by public transit-- despite living in a central neighborhood. My choice to drive has nothing to do with "habit" when public transit takes 5x longer.

[@Creem16]

6:42 "the LA officials faced a choice: bag the money from the auto industry or take care of their constituents" i wonder what they chose

[@JusNoBS420]

I’ve lived on the west coast my whole life and been to LA probably 5-6 times. Never knew LA had a subway system

[@themoviedealers]

First light rail 1990, first subway segment 1993. Currently third largest in North America, moving up to second largest.

[@michaelbenardo5695]

@@themoviedealers All thanks to then-Mayor Tom Bradley who had to fight tooth and nail to get it started.

[@michaelgalligan1187]

I don’t see transit in US cities getting back to the level they were pre-WWII for another 30-50 years. It’s gonna take major reform to the government, how cities are planned, and people opening up to new ideas.

[@Kaiserboo1871]

Yeah that ain’t happening. I think it’s time for Americans to admit that any attempt to experiment with European anything is doomed to failure. Public transport and universal healthcare, impossible under the current conditions in the US. So I think instead of continuing to argue for European solutions doomed to failure, we get together and come up with an American solution that actually plays into Americans sense of individuality.

[@LauRoot892]

Michael 🤔

[@coolboss999]

As a New York City native, the subway here is a central part of the city. It I'd one of the largest transit systems in the world. NYC would 100% not be what it is today without the subway.

[@RaymondHng]

The New York CIty subway system is heavy rail/rapid transit which is a different type from light rail/streetcar/tram systems that ran on surface streets described in this video. The history of streetcar lines in Manhattan, the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island is long and very complicated. Manhattan streetcar lines were operated by New York Railways, Third Avenue Railway, Second Avenue Railroad, and Union Railway. These streetcar lines were eliminated or replaced by bus lines in the 1930s-1940s. Streetcar lines in the Bronx came under control of the Third Avenue Railway. They were eliminated or replaced by bus lines in the 1940s. Brooklyn streetcar lines were operated by Brooklyn and Queens Transit Corporation, Brooklyn City Railroad, Brooklyn Heights Railroad, Brooklyn, Queens County and Suburban Railroad, Coney Island and Brooklyn Railroad, Coney Island and Gravesend Railway, and Nassau Electric Railroad. These streetcar lines were eliminated or replaced by bus lines in the 1930s-1950s. Streetcar lines in Queens were operated by BMT, Long Island Electric, Manhattan and Queens Traction, New York and Long Island Traction, New York and Queens County, Steinway Lines [1922-1939], Ocean Electric, and New York and North Shore Traction. These streetcar lines were eliminated or replaced by bus lines in the 1930s-1940s. Staten Island streetcar lines were operated by Richmond Light and Railroad Company and Staten Island Midland Railway. They were replaced by bus lines in the 1920s-1930s.

[@shastasilverchairsg]

Why can't NYC improve its subway? It is pretty shit compared to Japan, Taiwan, Singapore etc.

[@FlyingOverTr0ut]

I loved riding the bus after my (second) car in LA was destroyed in an overnight hit and run. I just didn't like waiting for the bus or rude passengers blocking the window seats by sitting in an aisle seat. Now I ride a bike.

[@Matty002]

'dont want a lane taken' yes because adding 4 lanes fixed the problem before. car brain really is crazy

[@robvegas9354]

it is amazing to think that they binned that tram system. The trains are ok in LA but need work. There are trams here in Melbourne which are great around town and when they have their own separate tracks but they can be a bit slow when sharing the road with cars. Ayway shout out to the cable cars in San Francisco, they are the best fun ever!!!

[@RaymondHng]

Five San Francisco Municipal Railway streetcar/tram lines (J, K, L, M, N) survive to this day for 100 years. The right-of-way tracks and tracks in tunnels going underground the largest hills in Fan Francisco may be a contributing factor. We also have historical streetcars from around the world in full operation. Two are from Melbourne: W2 Class built 1928 and SW6 Class built 1946 (donated to San Francisco from the State Government of Victoria).

[@LauRoot892]

Rob👋

[@FGH9G]

Damn you LA for getting rid of these! Bring back the Red and Yellow Cars you cowards! LOL 😅 But seriously though, thank you Cheddar for covering this topic. Also really loved the use of Synthwave music in your intro.

[@tetsuoshima2314]

Always good to see some light shed on this subject. For a deeper dive check out the PBS doc. Taken For A Ride. If you've ever visited another modern country you realize just how sad our public transit and rail is. It's ironic how bad the US fails at this (and no public healthcare) considering we tout being #1. For a country this large too we are the perfect candidate for a cross country high speed rail system. Maybe one day.

[@edwardmiessner6502]

Even third world countries are beating us at public transit, health care, even housing. Soon even the remaining "****hole countries" will be running circles around us.

[@TohaBgood2]

The main problem here with both transit and healthcare is that people are just not convinced that these are worthy expenditures of public dollars. Everyone says that they want free healthcare and good subsidized transit, but they run away as soon as you tell them how much more they'd have to pay in taxes. At the same time no one seems to have a problem with "socialist" ideas like "free" highways and roads. Everyone is completely fine wasting untold amounts of money on perpetually money-losing highways that also need to be completely replaced every 15-20 years! This is a messaging problem. We need to get people excited about transit and healthcare. Instead these issues were turned into political footballs and both sides are using them to score points. We won't be able to move ahead on these issues until both sides lose interest in politicizing these issues and injecting their ridiculous ideologies into everything. We just need to move methodically and convince enough people that we can in fact do this without instituting "communism" or "giving handouts to billionaires and corporations".

[@Vidied]

Having to go from one place to another as a tourist in America must be hell...

[@ianhomerpura8937]

I am just horrified how we can get around during the 2028 Olympics.

[@mats7492]

Athletes will probably have to use helicopters

[@RaymondHng]

@@mats7492 There will be reserved lanes exclusive for Olympic Games transport.

[@ianhomerpura8937]

​@@RaymondHng that's only for the executives and athletes. How about the general population that want to watch the Games across multiple locations?

[@Abell_lledA]

One doesn’t experience self transcendence, the illusion of self only dissipates-🎈

[@lukedahlinghaus6019]

No wonder ridership continued to decrease after WW2, half the city was torn down to build the highways so cars just became easier and faster than the transit. If the city fought against the construction of the freeways the ridership would not have reduced as much. It quite sad actually. It will be had to fix, LA is know for its sprawl and takes up a lot of space. The entire perception on city living would need to change to reduce LAs car dependence and a lot of money to reword the cities infrastructure. Not impossible but quite a challenge

[@LauRoot892]

Luke 👋

[@birdiewolf3497]

It was honestly a battle between publicly vs privately funded transportation.

[@solssun]

Honestly the biggest thing stopping me from moving to the States is their lack of transportation - the idea of an LA with a vast tram network would be too hard to say no to

[@CheapSquierBassPlayer]

It's ok, we already have enough people.

[@themoviedealers]

Current length of LA Metrorail 140 miles. That's third largest in North America.

[@RaymondHng]

@@themoviedealers Los Angeles Metro Rail is actually two different types of systems consisting of two heavy rail/rapid transit lines and four light rail lines.

[@andre1987eph]

It's here and it's SLOWER than molasses in January

[@maciekkra539]

One of the major reasons for this-Americans are very susceptible to the "latest fad". In Europe few countries tried this getting rid of rail transit stuff-notably Great Britain. Thankfully most Europeans realized in time stupidity of it. With land developers fighting logic for their own gain, it will be extremely difficult to build system like that again. Once again-personal proffits and short sightedness are major factor. That is a cultural issue and it starts at home. In my country the government did something very similar, getting rid of local rail lines. Now at a great expense they are rebuilding them back up, with some options lost forever. The push for electric cars is the same-everybody is jumping on the bandwagon in the name of efficency and profits. Little is said that electric cars create much bigger problem than the gasoline and diesel counterparts. I call that "chasing after the Jonses".

[@AlejandroFlores-vi8tl]

As Pomonan I am saddened to hear we were one of the first to destroy the system

[@RyanGroe]

Los Angeles isn't as centralized, both in terms of residence and working location, as other major cities. Los Angeles county has been and continues to be many connected cities. In other large metropolitan areas, you have roughly a single problem: connect suburbs to the city center. However in Los Angeles many people never go "downtown". I'm fortunate to live near a Metro station and I ride the Metro but almost never to downtown. For most, the current hub and spoke system is virtually useless. Still, that doesn't make the public transportation system as a whole useless. Los Angeles needs to restore its bus service to prepandemic quality and better promote Metro Micro to help solve the "first and last mile" problem.

[@Sirsantos]

Nah, I'll still blame the car industry. I'm sure they lobbied against public funding.

[@aperson696]

yeah because they did and still do

[@Mikolavic]

Trams caught in traffic jams... The author mentions this in passing, as if it were normal. That's the key to their decline. Consider why trams work in Europe today: they always have the priority and can, therefore, be quick, regular and reliable. People know when they're going to come by and when they'll get to their destination.

[@RaymondHng]

Five San Francisco Municipal Railway streetcar lines (J, K, L, M, N) survive to this day for 100 years. The right-of-way tracks and tracks in tunnels going underground the largest hills in Fan Francisco may be a contributing factor.

[@edwardmiessner6502]

L.A. would be radically different today had they bought out and maintained the Pacific Electric Railway, connected the Riverside and San Bernardino lines, put or kept the trolleys in their own reservations, and built monorails or skytrains and rubber-tired métros as appropriate. But the authorities kept bickering over what to build since *1910* and the state highway department decided to build 6, 8, 10, and 12 lane freeways instead. Now their descendants are stuck in traffic. I hope they're happy! 😡

[@princeofchetarria5375]

God, Los Angeles MUST bring these back. Those railcard were so beautiful too!!

[@DSAhmed]

You can demolish poor people's home to build more freeways, but don't you dare build more dense and affordable homes near rich people's homes and cause them to maybe lose a little "value"

[@clarazegarelli5861]

a developed country is not one that poor people can own a car, rather one that rich people uses public transportation... I´ve seen this phrase printed over a picture of Paul McCartney sitting in the London tube just like any other human.

[@Cyrus992]

The problem is that the new transit system are second hand joke services.

[@LauRoot892]

Cyrus 👋

[@franzzrilich9041]

One big issue you did not mention: trolley cars and interurbans were deeply unpopular after WWI to the point that in 1935 FDR forced the electric utilities to divest themselves of the passenger rail lines. In most of the US almost no local government wanted to take them over, as they would have to have been heavily rebuilt at great cost. Also, by 1961 there were almost no passenger light railcar makers left.

[@themoviedealers]

The only major streetcar systems in the US that survived from the early 20th century (San Francisco, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, New Orleans) switched over to municipal government ownership prior to 1920.

[@jerredhamann5646]

Another problem with streetcars at least as they were was that they ran down the center of the road which means you have to walk into traffic to board deboard in a time before cars this was no issue, but is obvious problem in a world of cars and why modern Street cars are either tight to the sidewalk or have a dedicated right of way and often light rail style platforms

[@jamesparson]

Indeed. San Francisco still has a lot of running in the middle of streets. Often with no platforms. It is scary.

[@LauRoot892]

@@jamesparson James 👍🏻

[@PWingert1966]

I was in Pasadena in the late 1990s and I took the bus to the local mall. I t was clear only lower-income people use this mode of transit. There were many grossly obese people, low-income seniors and children. This continued to be the case in Rochester, New York. When my employer saw me getting off the bus the first week there, they were so horrified that they rented me a car and told me I would have to purchase a car to continue to be employed there. I was informed that it would be perceived that they were not paying their employees well enough if I were seen on public transit and it would reflect badly on the company. I had come from Toronto which has a much broader culture of transit, so I was completely flabbergasted by this cultural difference.

[@carlose4314]

Miami used to have a streetcar system as well

[@RaymondHng]

Miami Traction Company: 1st time: 25 Jul 1906 - 3 Sep 1907 2nd time: 7 Jan 1922 - 14 Nov 1940

[@fredw3491]

Thank you for this video! Nice to hear fact based history rather than conspiracy theories. Don't get me wrong, though. I would have loved it if PE Red Cars could have survived. Glad to see that LA is investing in rail transit now.

[@LauRoot892]

Fred 👋

[@EliotHochberg]

I’m constantly amazed at the solutions that are proposed, suggesting that apartment buildings should go into neighborhoods where there’s mostly single-family residences. As far as I’m concerned, the answer is to zone businesses in such a way that you draw them into loci where are you want them in your public transport. Then you build your higher density living. Maybe charge higher rates for businesses who want to continue where they’re further away. By incentivizing business to move where you want it to, people will naturally gravitate toward those areas. Will mostly be young people who will do that. Why? Because older folks have spent their whole lives to buy the houses that they have. And that’s the reason why they’re going to be so resistant to change is nearby. But if you have a 50 year plan, and start now by encouraging businesses to locate where you want them, then newer folks with less overhead and less interest in trying to buy a house will naturally move closer to where their work is. As the older generation dies off, those houses will be sold, and then change will be much easier in single-family residence areas. The tactic that’s used by urban planners now is one where you’re trying to force people to do change too quickly. Which means that there will be a lot of resistance. It seems to me that fighting against that resistance will make the change take 100 years, whereas if you move businesses to where you want them to be, that change could happen in a much shorter time with a lot less pain.

[@jasminewilliams1673]

I also feel older people in other countries live better lives by not being dependent on driving. If Only we didn’t cling to homes as investments so much the whole system really needs to change.

[@EliotHochberg]

@@jasminewilliams1673 Perhaps, but I think that old people in other countries either enjoy being around others, or don't have a choice, while folks in the US prefer more distance. Having been in and seen how groups like HOAs function, I know that for me I would have a lot less stress living somewhere where I'm not obligated to interact with others any more than I want to when I'm old. Or even now :^)

[@shrayesraman5192]

@@jasminewilliams1673 Homes are a reason that 1 in 7 old people are millionaires in the US. They have always been a central investment.

[@LauRoot892]

@@EliotHochberg 👋💕

[@ruzzelladrian907]

One car for each person is not sustainable. Trains and better urban design for mixed use should be the future for most U.S.

[@FalconsEye58094]

Cut out all the costs of an automobile, how much more affordable does California get?

[@MilePost106]

They had it right with the trollies. Now with so much traffic congestion, they are building rail lines again and not all of it is good. Like here in Minnesota, the North Star is a joke and that’s because they don’t have the population like NYC, Chicago and LA.

[@LauRoot892]

Mile 👋

[@Tekker2234]

I wonder if cars would be such a big thing if we made auto companies pay for the roads and freeways.

[@jefflewis4]

It might have been bigger, auto companies would be getting revenues not only from car sales but the tolls they would be charging to keep the roads profitable. And they'd probably had gotten into real estate like Huntington did.

[@LauRoot892]

@@jefflewis4 Jeff 👋

[@UnrelatedAntonym]

The killing of good public transit in LA and replacement with freeways was a plot point in Who Framed Roger Rabbit, lol.

[@LauRoot892]

John 💕

[@johnbees4443]

It's not a conspiracy. The auto makers made up the word Jay Walking and more. It was GMC, Ford and Chrysler is the reason why you have to own a car

[@LauRoot892]

Bees 🐝

[@DementedDistraction]

LA would benefit immensely from a modern public transit upgrade on-par with Europe or Japan, but having been there and taken the existing public transit I can totally understand why people are willing to endure sitting in traffic for hours and being glued to their cars over there. In my experience the LA public transit system was chronically late, outdated, subject to frequent breakdowns/maintenance, it's absolutely filthy, every bus I went on reeked of pee and diesel, and I learned quickly to thoroughly examine your surroundings before you sit, just to make sure you don't sit on food, gum, soda, the previously mentioned piss, or a used needle. It wasn't as bad as San Francisco's BART, but it was pretty damn close.

[@leovomend8789]

every video about infrastructure, law, budget, services and politics in america is always about why its terrible, how it used to work allegedly, why it was taken away and why it isnt corruption and capitalism even though it always is

[@LauRoot892]

Leo 👂

[@BubsTheBoy]

i ride public transit. its very useful. and with gas prices where they are... its increasingly relevant. I think the real problem with public transit is just the image. People feel like they are lesser for using it and also its inundated with homeless and crazies.

[@Jeff-uj8xi]

People have been 'conditioned' to feel like second class citizens on public transit. It's part of the plot by auto makers, Big Oil and highway builders.

[@BubsTheBoy]

@@Jeff-uj8xi Highways are so ugly dude. I know its superficial but its true to me! lol

[@napoleonibonaparte7198]

In the eternal words of Adam, “Just build a damn train”.

[@alfredsaalo1441]

Cars should be used as a tool in the toolbox. It has it's time and place but should not be the only option

[@fb150185]

It never ceases to amaze me how impossible it is to love around US cities without a car.

[@CheapSquierBassPlayer]

That's a weird thing to be amazed at.

[@rhondamcknight2596]

Los Angeles got rid of trolleys because Goodyear Tire and the auto industry pressured the state government to rip them out. Some tracts remained that's what the Pasadena Goldline used.

[@LauRoot892]

Knight 👂⭐️