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

Here’s a sentence that makes you think: Los Angeles used to have one of the best mass transit systems in the world. But today, the city of Angels is known for its terrible traffic and poor public transit. In the early 20th century, LA relied on streetcars: trolleys with stops throughout Southern California. But in 1961 the last passenger streetcar took its final ride. Why? Well a popular conspiracy theory blames GM. But is that true? Cheddar explains.

Further Reading:

The Guardian

Los Angeles Times

Curbed (LA)

Southern California Railway Museum

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[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.

[bigguyCIAu]

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

[mats]

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

[jesusdachrist]

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

[davy]

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.

[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.

[artcurious]

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.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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

[jeffmorse]

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.

[jimvikse]

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!

[pamelahomeyer]

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

[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.

[TheElizondo]

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.

[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

[jaridkeen]

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.

[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 :)