The Rise of the Automobile: United States versus Europe

How Did The Rise of the Automobile Change Public Transit in the United States versus Europe?

This argument also underlies conventional explanations of the differences between European and US mass transit systems. National population density of Germany is higher than that of the United States, owing to pre-industrial and early industrial settlement patterns. The density and age characteristics of German cities allegedly account for their more advanced transport systems (Dunn, 1981; Adams, 1981; cited in Yago, 1983). The same position is used to explain inter-city variations within countries, with older industrial cities more likely to have mass transit systems than newer, low-density cities (Yago, 1983).