Why Did Some Streetcars Survive When Most Didn't?

America is experiencing what the Secretary of Transportation calls a "streetcar revival." At least 20 cities, encouraged by the availability of federal TIGER grants, have expressed an interest in building new streetcar lines. Each week seems to bring a new project: Kansas City now envisions a $101 million, four-mile line ready by 2015; Indianapolis began to contemplate two miles of downtown track in late summer; just a few days ago Providence scheduled several public meetings for its $126 million concept. The list goes on and on.

The renewed interest forces the question of why America abandoned its streetcars in the first place. The short answer, of course, is the rise of the automotive engine. Streetcars ruled city streets in the late 19th century — propelling the growth of early suburbs — and in many places continued to dominate urban travel through WWII. But in the end the personal car and the transit bus, with the flexibility to go where they pleased, largely won the day.