Community | June 16, 2009 | 4 comments

GM spent a lot of money to "buy up and destroy mass transit"

source: http://www.ejnet.org/rachel/rehw439.htm

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Jonathonish

http://www.ejnet.org/rachel/rehw439.htm

The automobile did not come to dominate American transportation by chance or by public choice. It happened as part of a plan by auto makers to buy up and destroy mass transit companies. General Motors led the way. As recently as the 1920s, many American cities and towns were connected by a network of electric railroads and interurban trolleys. Within cities, electric street railways, trolleys, and elevated trains, moved large numbers of people easily and cheaply, with minimal congestion and pollution. But steel-wheeled electric/rail mass transit systems did not serve the needs of the automobile manufacturers and their allies in the steel, rubber, glass, concrete, and oil industries.

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4 comments // GM spent a lot of money to "buy up and destroy mass transit"

  • twitterbot
    • 0
      twitterbot  

    • @foo_yong on twitter says "Really good read on why GM is responsible for the death of mass transit in the states via @chris_grant"

    • 3 years ago
  • stopnoise
    • 0
      stopnoise  

    • Now we have another class of pollution used to kill public transportation. Noise! Annoying beep signals and many other type of noise, all day long and through the night. Who ever thought this would happen in 2009? It is bizarre criminal and out of a mad sciences book!

    • 3 years ago
  • jh64487
  • Jonathonish
    • 0
      Jonathonish  

    • Some interesting information on the role GM played in the deconstruction of most electric mass transit systems throughout the U.S. I'm from the Twin Cities and we used to have an amazing rail car system throughout Minneapolis and St. Paul. We now have a light rail that goes from Downtown to the airport, but have yet to break ground on the rail connecting Minneapolis to St. Paul. We have an amazing bus system, and are slowly but surely introducing more hybrid buses all the time. GM gets no sympathy from me.

    • 3 years ago

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