Analyzing the Failures of United States Public Transportation and Potential Solutions
Open Access
- Author:
- Huffaker, Nelson
- Area of Honors:
- Geography
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Arts
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- Roger Michael Downs, Thesis Supervisor
Roger Michael Downs, Thesis Honors Advisor
Emily T Rosenman, Faculty Reader - Keywords:
- public transportation
transit
cars
transit oriented developments
cities
livability
urban planning - Abstract:
- American’s reliance on private automobiles as the dominant form of transportation has a negative impact on not only the environment, but the livability of American cities. As car-centric urban sprawl continues, traffic congestion, inequal access to job centers, and high transportation costs remain the norm for many people. The reason American cities lag behind their foreign counterparts when it comes to reliable public transportation is due to a multitude of past and present policy failures that have consistently prioritized car-centric infrastructure over much needed public transportation improvements. While public transportation ridership was slowly increasing throughout America in the past decade, the COVID-19 pandemic had a disastrous effect on public transit agencies everywhere. A slow recovery in ridership throughout most of the US along with the growing interest in remote working options has led to concerns that public transportation in the US might be on its last legs. However, with the abrupt change that the pandemic caused in our society comes an opportunity to rethink how we want our cities to function and with the many benefits of prioritizing public transit – as well as other multimodal options – over private automobiles, it is important that we attempt to change. From the implementation of Transit Oriented Developments to reshaping of our residential zoning laws to allow for more density, there remains plenty of policy ideas that can not only improve public transportation access and reliability to urban residents, but also make cities in America more livable to all.