One of the suggestions for the new GM is build not only cars but also get into light rail systems. I can't let the irony of this escape. Back in the 40's, GM along with Firestone (the tire people) and Standard Oil formed a company named National City Lines. The purpose of NCL was to go city by city to buy up the efficient, clean and fast street car systems by bribing local officials and spreading lies about how much better buses are. Well NCL succeeded wildly and America's love affair with the personal auto was born. The result is smog, congestion and global warming. Now big cities are struggling to restore a small percentage of what they had. Los Angeles being the biggest and sorriest example.
Until 1963, when NCL came in and did their number on LA, Los Angeles had the best mass and local transit system in the world. LA was really a city and suburbs built by streetcars and today's layout reflects this history. I believe they had over 1,000 miles of rail, mostly in right of way meaning they did not have to compete with street traffic. That is of course what irked GM and Firestone and Standard oil (Exxon). These transit systems were sold off to NCL over the objections of many local people who depended on these effective street car systems, sort of like how "health care reform" meaning private insurance bailout is being forced on us today. (But more on that in a future post).
Today Los Angeles is spending BILLIONS to build a small portion of the mass transit system they already had and lost. Some interesting facts, the Blue line between LA and Long Beach runs on the same right of way of the original red cars. The new Metro Red Line subway system uses a portion of the original subway tunnel from the 50's.
So it is indeed ironic if GM now starts to build light rail systems. Ok, so it was Michael Moore who proposed it but I like his proposal.
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