“It’s just more and more lanes’: the Texan revolt against giant new highways”

T. A. Gardner said:
No, light rail was an early transit system at a time when there wasn't an alternative. Most early trolley and rail systems were privately owned and for profit. They died off when the automobile and bus became available in mass. The flexibility of these dominated the fixed routes of rail systems.

Railroads worked until highways replaced them for the same reason: Flexibility and a reduction in time and cost. In the US air travel also prevailed as it was more efficient than rail for passenger service.
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Railroads still work, but for moving bulk freight that isn't practical to move by air. Yes. Passenger rail service fell apart when air travel became widely available. The only people that ride passenger rail (other than transit) are those afraid of flying and can't or don't want to drive. A pretty small crowd to say the least. This is why passenger rail service is government owned now. It can't make a profit.

For transit, it's just another bus line, but on rails. It can't make a profit. That's why governments build them. You might say it's a form of unsuccessful communism. It is government ownership of a market, and like usual, have no idea how to run a railroad.

People are going to drive their cars.
 
PostmodernProphet said:
the growth patterns west of Chicago, out along Interstate 88 are interesting.....clusters of high rise commercial buildings every five miles or so.......trains running between the eastbound and westbound interstate lanes........suburbs and strip malls surrounding each cluster........seems like they built an interstate to encourage development rather than waiting for the development then building roads to get to it....
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Interesting take on it. Mr. Owl has been saying for years that every time they add a new highway in the St. Louis area, it leads to further sprawl as everyone moves out there. When we moved there in 1961 the suburb we lived in was 30 miles from St. Louis, and considered a far, far suburban area by and by. It was mostly farms when we moved there. Then they started building highways. Now that same far, far suburban sprawl is 12 miles further west, has expanded into the next county, as well as to the south.
 
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