10
The History of Transit
US and Canadian transit, 1980-1989
US and Canadian transit, 1990-1999
NEW TRANSIT CONSTRUCTION (miles)
NEW TRANSIT CONSTRUCTION (miles)
commuter rail bus rapid transit streetcar light rail peoplemover heavy rail
commuter rail bus rapidrail transit commuter streetcar light rail peoplemover heavy rail
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In the 1980s, new technologies and funding sources allowed rail transit to spread beyond a few big cities. In 1964, the US Congress and President Johnson created the Urban Mass Transit Administration, today’s FTA. Federal laws enacted in 1979 and 1983 established long-term funding for transit projects and formalized the program for awarding grants, today known as “New Starts.” By covering up to 50% of the cost of transit projects, it put rail within the reach of more cities, but it also set up funding requirements and processes that extend the planning process and sometimes lead to odd choices. The federal government also created “formula” funds that would go to every metropolitan area, paying for new buses and transit centers and greatly improving the experience of riding transit, and promoted the development of new transit technologies like peoplemovers. In Canada, similar efforts happened on a provincial level. Ontario funded development of new transit technologies through the Urban Transportation Development Corporation. The federal governments rescued what was left of longdistance trains with the creation of Amtrak in the US in 1971 and VIA Rail in Canada 1997, but neither provided for local trains. Thus states and provinces were forced to take over the remaining commuter-rail service or let it disappear. New equipment began appearing on the service that remained, sometimes replacing 50-year-old trains. Light-rail systems in Edmonton (1978), Calgary (1981), San Diego (1981), Portland (1986), and Sacramento (1987) became a new model for rail transit. Cheaper than heavy rail, but still attractive enough for the desired “choice riders,” light rail was an appealing option for many places. The new transit systems of the 1980s largely continued the 1970s planning philosophy, building lines far into the suburbs, with widely spaced stations. Sacramento (right) was typical in using railroad lines combined with short street-running segments in downtown.
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In the 1990s, rail transit once again became a normal part of American cities. Transit advocates, agency staff, and consultants worked to spread expertise, technology, ideas, and political strategies from city to city. Increasingly, transit became a tool for livability. Cities tried to revitalize downtowns with convention centers and boutique hotels, museums, ballparks, restaurants, lofts, and condos. Meanwhile, inner-city neighborhoods gentrified as the children of suburbia looked for shorter commutes and places with character. Even suburbs wanted walkable places and saw rail as a way to get them; Vancouver built a regional growth strategy around dense development at Skytrain stations. “Transit-oriented development” became a major theme of industry conferences. With increased political support, cities got more ambitious. Early light-rail systems were generally expanded one line at a time; now cities began going to voters with master plans covering many lines. Dallas, Salt Lake City, and Denver embarked on multi-decade rail expansions. Along with light rail, cities started building commuter rail, with six new systems in the 1990s. street running to get trains into Downtown
lines in freeways and rail rights of way
suburban stations with park-and-ride lots radial system focused on downtown
Sacramento Light Rail, built 1983-2015
