RedRocket191
Senior Member
LRT went out of cities for a reason. Chicago for example had the biggest streetcar system in the world, I think. They tore it all up. I am like wow wtf how did they have so many lines when I look at the map... the point is that LRT is not a good option for places that are dense.
I think you need a history lesson:
Before the 1930s, streetcar systems were usually run by the local electric company. They ran the trolleys and sold the surplus electricity to consumers. In 1935 an Act of Congress forced them to make a choice - either run streetcars or generate power. Electricity was a growth industry and many chose to sell off the transit business. Newly independent, they had to buy electricity on the open market. Combine new expenses with declining ridership due to the availability of the automobile and you get the mass abandonment in the following years.
If you want to introduce conspiracy theories (and I do), you can argue that the abandonment was hurried by the fact that many of the street railways were purchased by National City Lines, Pacific City Lines and American City Lines - all companies owned by GM, Firestone Tire, Standard Oil of California, Phillips Petroleum, Mack Truck, and others.
Density increases had very little, if nothing to do with the abandonment of the streetcar network in american cities. If anything it was declining densities.