When Judy Garland sang: “Ring, ring, ring, went the trolley / Ding, ding, ding, went the bell” in the Trolley Song in 1944’s movie Meet Me in St. Louis (1944), she was celebrating the trolley car, the all-American streetcar that summed up down town US cities from the 1900s to the 1940s. No city worth its name would have failed to build a streetcar system as a form of civic pride.
In the 1940s, a mix of vested interest and the growing levels of car ownership and aspiration worked to kill off systems from the West Coast to the East Coast and the Mid West. Down towns were then left to the automobile as the buses that were supposed to replace the trolleys were then abandoned by all but the desperate.
Light Rail 101
Then the oil crisis of the early 1970s brought a wake-up call: oil would never be as cheap again. Fast forward to 2010 and the Gulf oil spill is exacting a terrible price for motorists’ freedoms.
But the motorist of 2010 is a different creature of the aspirational driver of the 1970s and now is quite willing to look at alternatives to the Tarmac for their daily commute. That is one reason why light rail is making a comeback.
What is light rail? Trolleys and street cars are examples of light rail. They can run on streets, have tight corners and can follow the down town road pattern. They can stop at stops like bus stops. Popular in many European cities which never got rid of them – with the exception of the UK which generally follows US practice in transport and also tore up its streetcars in the 1950s and 1960s – they can also be known as trams.
Subway systems are not light rail as they depend on extensive infrastructure such as tunnels and underground stations – likewise elevated systems are not light rail systems as they depend on extensive construction of elevated railroads and stations. Most routes operate in the classic style on street trackage shared with car traffic, and streetcars stop on demand at frequent stops like buses. Some routes do operate wholly or partly within their own rights-of-way, but they still stop on demand at frequent stops.
There is an irony in that the cars that replaced the street cars are now having to share the roadways with the next generation of light rail cars.
HuffPost Green
On July 20, the Huffington Post website published a report by Travis Walter Donovan looking at the seven most popular and heavily used light rail systems in the United States. Donovan based his report on the American Public Transportation Association’s Public Transport Ridership Report from Q4 2009.So what are the top ridership light rail systems in the US?
· Boston
Boston's MBTA Green Line light rail is the oldest and busiest in the country. At the end of 2009, an average of 235,000 people were commuting on the system's 25.4 miles of track every weekday. The initial system opened in 1897.
· San Francisco
San Francisco's Municipal Railway (Muni) is an upgraded version of their original streetcar system, with a route now stretching 71.5 miles. The Muni serves an average of 163,000 riders each weekday.
· Los Angeles
Los Angeles' first modern light rail opened in 1990. Now, with a route over 61 miles long, the los Angeles County Metro Rail services about 135,000 riders per weekday. The rail is currently undergoing even further expansion into outlying areas.
· Portland
Portland's first light rail opened in 1986. Now with four lines covering 53 miles, TriMet's Metropolitan Area Express (MAX) is the 4th busiest light rail in the country. At the end of 2009, over 115,000 people were riding the MAX light rail daily during the week. The city is planning to begin construction on another line in 2011.
· Philadelphia
The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) operates various trolley lines in Philadelphia that compose their light rail system, the 5th busiest in the United States. The 60 mile route is used by an average of 103,000 riders each weekday.
· San Diego
The San Diego Trolley commenced operations in 1981. During the week an average of 91,000 people ride the light rail's 50+ mile route. The Mid-Coast Corridor Transit Project, which should be completed by 2015, will extend the light rail to many high activity areas, like the University of California, San Diego.
· Dallas
The Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) light rail runs 49 miles, with a third line having just debuted in 2009. Almost 66,000 people ride the light rail each day during the week. DART plans on adding a 4th line, stretching 14 miles. Originally scheduled to open in 2011, construction issues have potentially delayed its launch until 2012.
Toronto Transit Commission
If you want to ride on the largest streetcar system in the Americas, then you have to cross the border and head for Toronto, Ontario.
Since 1921, the Toronto Transportation Commission (TTC) has maintained the use of techniques long removed in the streetcar networks of other North American cities; Toronto’s streetcars are not heritage streetcars, preserved in aspic for the benefit of out-of-town tourists or nostalgic purposes. They actively provide most of the downtown core’s surface transit service and four of the TTC's five most heavily used surface routes are streetcar routes. In 2006, ridership on the streetcar system totalled more than 52 million passengers.
Investment in new cars is likely in the near future as the economic situation improves. This should guarantee services run, without disruption, into its second century under TTC control.
Huffington Post Railroad Interest
This is not the first time the website has championed the cause of rail in the US. They carried a report recently on Vice President Joe Biden's backing for rail as a viable mode for passenger transit. He is a regular Amtrak user and would like more of his countrymen joining him.
James Graham - I have been a professional journalist since the 1980s. I started on weekly newspapers in the English Midlands - working intially on one of ...
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