Public and mass transportation in America is essentially nonexistent, with most public transportation systems being in urban areas – and even then, it may be functional. American transportation agencies are struggling to match those abroad, leading to citizens feeling discarded by their government. The lack of public infrastructure, particularly when taxes are being raised, is cause for concern to the population. How exactly are these taxes benefiting us as a population? A source of public infrastructure that could be largely beneficial to the population is public transportation on a mass scale, which could be funded by some of these taxes.
One issue with American public transportation in the current moment is how fragmented regional trips are on the rail lines. For example, in the San Francisco Bay Area there are 27 separate transit agencies. In comparison, transportation in Germany, Austria and Switzerland is coordinated through regional entities, established to simplify trips that previously required multiple tickets and transfers. If this practice entered America, more people would be inclined to ride the public transportation available, and therefore increase revenue.
Furthermore, the practice of through-running, developed in Paris in the 1970s, is yet to be made common practice in America. Through-running is an operational strategy where trains continue through a city center to suburban destinations on the opposite side rather than stopping at a central station. This connects regional lines to the city center, and transforms end-terminals into functioning stations. As seen in Paris in the 1970s, efficiency was improved by eliminating time-consuming turnarounds in Paris train stations.
More recently, in May 2022, Transport for London used through-running in its design of the Elizabeth Line – a successful endeavor. Ridership has substantially exceeded projections. Based on these experiences, through-running could improve transportation networks present in America – such as Penn Station in New York, which facilitates journeys between New Jersey and Long Island.
To add to the picture, think about Amtrak. Amtrak is the national passenger railroad company of the United States, operating 15 long-distance routes and stretches over 39 states. Even with these statistics, the majority of the country does not have any rail options. Recently, 15 additional routes have been proposed, making rail accessible to an additional 39 million Americans. In 2024, Amtrak saw its most active year yet – imagine how active it could be with more Americans having access to it. Unfortunately, implementing these routes would take significant federal investment and planning, and there is no sustained financial support or program to construct or operate the proposed routes.
The way to get these routes to be a priority is to petition policymakers and advocate for change in the public transportation department – if implemented these Amtrak routes would bring more rail to the Southern United States, making travel more accessible for everyone down here. Public transportation, like buses, trams, and smaller metro systems, is essential for a community to be able to access one another. Being able to hop on a bus and ride to Valdosta as opposed to driving myself is a great option – and allows me to focus on conversing with my friends, rather than keep us alive on I-75.