Urban Transportation

12 Pages 3095 Words

ven middle class driveways, but the Great Depression and then World War II delayed the idea two decades. The Great Depression would actually lay the foundation for the automobile explosion that was to come. However, during the years of the depression public transportation began to soar as the transit mode of choice. Most people could not afford the automobile and those who had a car were unable to maintain it during the tough times (Smerk 37). Unemployment continued to soar and ridership began to drop off. As the depression came to an end, public transportation found itself severely hurt. The government had to help pull the nation out of the depression so federal work programs were developed. Many of the work programs that the government developed to pull the U.S. out of the depression were centered on transportation, but not on public transit (Smerk 43). Development of new roads and improving existing ones would get the nation ready to fight a war then be ready to transport millions of Americans. During the war public transportation was once a...