Date: Wed, 21 Dec 2005 09:16:39 -0500
From: "Michael Walsh" <MJW at press.jhu.edu>
To: <WSFAlist at KeithLynch.net>
Subject: [WSFA] Take the A train! was Odd events
Reply-To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at KeithLynch.net>

> ronkean at juno.com 12/21/2005 3:05:15 AM >>>

snippage occurs

>That's true, but says little about the fundamental merit of public
>versus
>private transportation.  Over the past 100 years in NYC, public
>transportation was extensively developed, and most commuters now
>depend
>on it.  Suddenly shutting that down makes a crisis.  If,
hypothetically,
>there had been no subways or commuter rail established, then the
>absence
>of those would not be a crisis.  In theory, subways and commuter rail
>could be privately owned.

A very readable history of the planning, building, politics of the NYC
subway system, which celebrated its' centennial in 2004, is this JHU
Press book: 722 Miles - The Building of the Subways and How They
Transformed New York
<http://www.press.jhu.edu/books/title_pages/8514.html>

mjw