Nearly 40 years ago when I was contemplating my first full-time job offer from a highly regarded transit agency, many folks told me what an exciting time it was for public transportation, as we were “just around the corner” from a revolution and renaissance. Growth, urbanization, fuel availability and price concerns, environmental sensitivities, and a growing reluctance to presume that urban roadway expansion could meet travel needs provided a logical basis for such prognostications. The compelling appeal of the personally owned automobile has repeatedly been underestimated—there was no turning point. Transit’s relative role in terms of market share faded through the mid-1970s, followed by fluctuations and a modest overall growth trend in total ridership but slightly declining per capita use. More recently, the recessionary increase in ridership has been offset by decline during the recent economic recovery.

中文翻译：

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指日可待：美国公共交通的未来

将近40年前，当我考虑从一家享有盛誉的运输公司获得第一份全职工作时，许多人告诉我，对于公共交通来说，那是一段激动人心的时刻，因为革命和复兴使我们“指日可待” 。增长，城市化，燃料供应和价格问题，环境敏感性以及人们越来越不愿意假定城市道路的扩展可以满足出行需求，为这种预测提供了逻辑基础。反复低估了个人拥有汽车的吸引力-没有转折点。在市场占有率方面，全顺的相对作用在1970年代中期逐渐消退，其次是波动和总乘客量的适度总体增长趋势，但人均使用量略有下降。最近，