I like trains as much as the next nostalgic, but to believe “street cars are the future” requires a particular madness. This funny but sharp commentary nails it…
“Modern” … “Environmentally Friendly” … who are we kidding!?
Cincinnati is in the final lap of constructing said white elephant akin to the DC pike. The politics are a complete joke. One fib after another, from “it’ll only cost x millions” to “it’ll pay for itself” to a mayor who told voters “I’ll kill it if elected,” only to flip-flop within hours of being sworn in.
It’s rich that the primary palace advocate’s name is La ‘Hood’. Hood-wink more accurately.
What’s even sillier are all urban hipsters and millennials who think the streetcar is cool, no doubt thinking it’ll be just grand to hear the ring-ring of the bell as they sip their latte at the cafe. But they’ll likely never ride a mile on the thing!
A little schooling: By the 1920’s, the country had thousands of miles of trolley systems. (Look up Samuel Insull for fun.) Whether they were municipal trolleys or interurbans whining across the countryside, nearly every town of any significance was connected. By the First World War, trolleys were the 5th largest industry in the US.
But the truth was that, from the very beginning, most trolley systems had trouble making ends meet. They couldn’t haul much rich freight (the big trains did that). And the per person costs of moving Aunt Betty from the big town to the big city for a day of shopping just couldn’t cover the hardware.
Once roads began to be improved in the 1920’s, trolley systems started going bankrupt left and right. Once the Depression hit, it was game over.
Advocating for and building trolleys today is political windmill jousting at its finest!