Abstract:
Although selecting a transit mode for a city is perhaps the most important step in system development, the decision process is too often plagued by biased or faulty arguments for or against particular modes. Transit "fashions" have swept the world decade after decade. People movers, automated-guideway transit (AGT), light rail transit (LRT), exclusive busways, and paratransit have all had their day. Although not all succeeded in North America, some have succeeded elsewhere. In this decade, important innovations and maturing concepts have included the guided bus or O-Bahn, further development of LRT designs, and diversification and implementation of AGT systems. As a result, a continuum of transit modes exists. Making reason-based choices, however, remains problematic.
Supplemental Notes:
This paper appears in Transportation Research Board Special Report No. 221, Light Rail Transit: New System Successes at Affordable Prices - Papers presented at the National Conference on Light Rail Transit, May 8-11, 1988, San Jose, California, Conducted by the Transportation Research Board. Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved
