Public Transportation
...t would improve the state of the environment, save people money, and save energy resources. America’s current dependence on cars as primary means of transportation causes excess noise and air pollution, injuries and deaths related to car accidents, dependence on foreign oil (which some may argue has started wars, but that may be a cheap shot), and an abundance of traffic congestion. Since the 1960’s the government has implemented policies to try and increase the quality and use of public transit. The Transportation Act of 1964 gave capital grants to improve the transit system. In the beginning, most of this money was used to purchase private firms and new buses. Despite all the money that was given to improve the public transit system, rideship was still down. This occurred because one, in purchasing the private firms, it was also becoming responsible for the problems that were causing it to fail in the first place, and two, the public perception of public transit is not positive, making public transportation an unpopular choice for most. There was pressure to expand the grants to include operating subsidies (to maintain and repair equipment). It was feared that this would not encourage cost control, and those critics were right. Much of this new money went to increase the salaries of transit workers, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but it was not what the money was designed to do. One reason that public transit has not become popular in many cities is because of the changing geography of many cities. Most public transit lines focus on downtown and popular in-city destinations. The fact of the matter is that in many cities throughout the country, the surrounding city suburbs are taking over as the prime location to live and work. This makes utilizing public transit for many, an inconvenient option. Despite all the negatives and failed programs to improve public transit, it still may be possible. In 2002, a study was done at the University of Utah, the site of the 2002 Olympic Games. This study sought t...