Originally Posted by
Roody
Your last sentence is puzzling. If the system was still well used into the 1950s, how can you say that the automobile killed it? More likely it was killed by government policies that subsidized roads for automobiles while offering nothing for the private companies that operated the interurban.
Car penetration to the level we see it today was not the norm back then. When I was a kid in the 60s, my parents had only one car, so there was still a need for public transit. Today, mom, dad, and every kid over the age of 16 have a dedicated car at their disposal.