[PRCo] Re: Why did trolleys take the business?

[John Swindler]

Maybe the electric streetcar gave people what they wanted - independence.  Then Henry Ford took it to a whole new level.  It wasn't the development of the automobile - it predates the electric trolley.  It was the development of mass production and what that did to unit costs.
 
I was surprised from some comments on the antique auto club website.  The trolley had about a two decade period of development without competition - 1888-1906/8.  There were some comments about the first auto to cross the country in 1903 - the same year as the opening of the Washington trolley line to the PTM museum site.  That auto cost $2,500 when the average wage was $500 per year.  It was a toy for only the wealthy.  There was also a comment that many considered the auto market already saturated.  Those who could afford a automobile already had one.  Then came Olds and a couple years later Henry Ford with mass production.
 
By the way, Dennis, have you noticed the scarcity of comments about including public transportation as an option in the oil price debate?  
 
I have a co-worker at work who has been to a couple FTA sponsored training classes.  Even the Federal Transit Administration employees don't know that public transit serves the Atlanta airport.
 
John
 
 
 
> From: dfc1 at windstream.net> To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org> Subject: [PRCo] Re: Why did trolleys take the business?> Date: Sun, 6 Jul 2008 07:53:55 -0400> > Henry Ford gave the country what it wanted, or at least he convinced us that > is what we wanted; Independence. The streetcars gave us the first suburbs > and then the post WWII housing boom created suburbs to the suburbs and we > just continued to grow. The peak of the electric age was circa 1918 and > peak bus ridership was in the early 1950's. Our country continued to move > farther and farther away due to incredibly cheap fuel prices and now we are > beginning to see the mistakes that were made.> > We got spoiled and now want to complain. The talk everywhere is about the > price of fuel, but I see few people parking their large vehicles. There was > a brief bit on the news this morning that a developer is making condos out > of the old Horne's and Murphy buildings in Pittsburgh because people are > wanting to move back into town.> > I just got back from Italy and fuel there is 1.54 Euros a litre. That comes > out to about $9.00 a gallon at the current rate. A Ford Focus is a large > car and flying into both Paris and Rome show few sprawling suburban areas > like we have. I bought a 24 hour pass on the Rome system for 4 Euros. That > covered bus, Metro, trams and their regional rail line; much cheaper than a > taxi at morning rush.> > Europe and Asia want more fuel than ever before. Our gas is still > relatively cheap and we still are unhappy. When I started working 33 years > ago, gas was close to $2.00 a gallon and it has doubled. My salary went up > over 7 times in the same position. Is the glass half full or half empty? I > have had a wonderful weekend: drove home from Delaware County on the 4th, > played a wedding with my quintet in Clarion and came home to barbecue > outside on the 5th; and will finish the weekend off today by driving 120 > miles round trip to volunteer at PTM. Now if I can just get Air France to > get my luggage to me from Paris I will come home to a much more relaxed > wife.> > I bought a new Nikon D60 before I left for Europe and have posted the raw > images here:> > http://picasaweb.google.com/altotrombone> > Dennis F. Cramer> Trombone> > > > 
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