The Changing Environment of Urban Transportation

A combination of rising operating costs, dwindling federal subsidies, and unfulfilled public expectations about the promise of mass transportation are prompting local jurisdictions to question the logic of existing public transportation arrangements and to search for less costly and more effective alternatives. The outcome of this reappraisal may be nothing less than a fundamental restructuring and reform of urban public transportation. This article discusses the issues that form the backdrop and shape the agenda for the current reexamination of traditional urban transportation premises.