Electrification of Transit

How Did the Electrification of Transit Affect Public Transit Progress?

Initial studies in urban transportation history describe how the limitations of horse-drawn trolley systems spurred the rapid innovation of electrified trolley lines in the context of rising public utility investment, land speculation, and rapid population growth (Ward, 1971, 131-34; cited in Yago, 1983). Electrification proceeded faster in the United States than in Europe (McKay, 1976; cited in Yago, 1983). The electrification of transit paralleled the growth of both the national electrical supplies manufacturing industry (Passer, 1953, 250-55) and the local real estate industry (Hoyt, 1933; Wilcox, 1921; Weber, 1974; cited in Yago, 1983).