Long Range Prospects and Requirements of Urban Public Transportation. Executive Summary

摘要

This report presents the results of a research project which investigated the long range prospects and requirements of urban public transportation in the United States as a result of the changes experienced in the economy, demography, technology, energy, and urbanization in the 1970s. This study takes into account all the factors that ostensibly would play a role in the future of urban transit. It reviews the changes in these factors and draws conclusions concerning their implications on the future of urban mass transit. The Philadelphia area is utilized as a case in point, with data on changes in urbanization patterns drawn from the four suburban counties of the Philadelphia region. Based on the findings, the report concludes that urban mass transit in the United States should be expected to increase significantly in importance, extent, and quality in the years between 1980 and 2000.