A Car Is Hard to Beat

“As soon as Henry Ford’s innovative production techniques drove down the price of automobiles, their relative cost advantage for urban transport became clear. With a car there is no expensive wait time spent shifting between modes. There is no time lost picking up and delivering other passengers. Door to door, all segments of the trip are combined into one. Completely flexible, the driver can go wherever he or she wishes, varying the departure time and modifying the route in infinite variation. A car can accommodate side trips... Its passengers are (safer). Both climate and music are under the driver’s control. In a (private) car one need not accommodate anyone else’s route or schedule. In combination all these factors give the automobile a distinct cost advantage, and urban travelers have made their choices accordingly.” Randall Bartlett, “The Crisis of America’s Cities” M. E. Sharp Armonk NY 1998 p165.