Who Killed The Electric Street Car?

In this excerpt from Stephen Talbot's "Heartbeat of America" (1993), Christopher Snell explains how GM conspired with oil & tire companies to kill streetcars in cities all across America in order to create an inferior bus system that would guarantee the sale of tires, gas, and bus parts for an eternity.

As Snell explains, "They would go in, buy a street railway system. They'd convert it to General Motors Buses. The General Motors busses would run on Firestone tires. And they'd be fueled by, in the east, Phillips, and in the west, Standard Oil California."

In 1947, according to Snell, the Federal Government charged GM and its partners with criminal conspiracy. The result was that GM was fined $5,000 and its top official was fined a single dollar. Compare this to the over 150 billion dollar project currently in the works of trying to build a railway system for Los Angeles today.

Category:

Autos & Vehicles

Tags:

• ev1
• electricstreetcar
• electric
• car
• whokilledtheelectriccar
• chrispaine
• paine
• alternativeenergy
• energy

[Intransitman]

Still to this day American transport policy is hostile to rail.

There use to 260,000 miles of track in the US now there 140,000.

Railroads have to operate on a profit or loss basis, though roads like the one in front of your house don't have to.

Also rail transport use 1/10 the energy of road transport.

[jojopuppyfish]

Oh, btw what killed the electric cars was that People liked driving more than using public transportation.

Cars work great until you're stuck in traffic.

[jojopuppyfish]

@MrPotatoesLatkie In SF, there was a protest when they wanted to remove the cable cars.

Where was that type of protest in LA?

People love their cars in the USA. Gray Davis was recalled by the CA voters because he tried to raise the DMV tax on cars and the voters revolted

[MrPotatoesLatkie]

@jojopuppyfish I'm sure that helped, but they give evidence for their view, while you only gave a conjecture, a plausible one, though.

[SaturnEternity]

That 20 years is soon approaching from the date this film was made.

[gygyman64]

@jojopuppyfish actually greed killed the streetcar, people like to drive, but when you take the alternative to the car out, what are you gonna do? you can't walk 10km to work every day. People liked to drive but at that time it was all in the pleasure to drive, if they had to go to work or go long distance they used rail, besides cars did not offer confort like today. I don't know what to say, the people who did this are dead because they got old so what was the point getting all the money?!

[watup2154]

it makes me sad.

[sirrliv]

Well, having heard the other side of the story, I don't hold to this vid. The sad fact is that Pacific Electric simply didn't keep up with the growth of the suburbs, and their own service left them redundant & vulnerable to the very buy-outs that are described here.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not defending GM. Gods, no. I'm just saying that this is only one part of a bigger story.

[GlobalAwareness2525]

@jojopuppyfish

3

It is very common place for one business who wants to corner the market to buy out their competitor destroying all buildings then erect their own building. I knew a man who opened a Pizza joint. His competitor approached him & said "shut down or I will shut you down". Using city officials to harass he was shut down within 3 months. This stuff happened in the past & continues to happen to this day. It is life in the brutal world of business.

[GlobalAwareness2525]

@jojopuppyfish

2

They unknowingly left a paper trail I was able to find through the Freedom Of Information act. They use the AKC & BernerGarde foundation with insiders who have access to EveryBodies personal information, they use city officials to carry out their dirty work but I would not tolerate that.Firstly I launched a publicity campaign to destroy the breeders reputations then 1X1 I went to every city authority involved threatening to publicly press charges.All attacks& harassment stopped

[GlobalAwareness2525]

@jojopuppyfish

1

I breed a high $ dog.There are groups who harass other dog breeders getting into the business,I can easily call them the elite because in my counter attack against them I have traced them down to their homes & they do come from money. They travel the world showing their dogs, they profit $3,000-$4,000 per pup with a litter of 12, that's $36,000-$48,000 per litter. They don't want me cutting into their business & under cutting them so they tried to drive me out but I fight back.