The automobile and mass transportation (part I)

In the developed world, the automobile entered the transportation market as a toy for the rich at the beginning of the 20th century. It became increasingly popular because it gave travelers important new freedoms: to visit many different places (while mass transportation served only fixed routes), to make trips at any convenient time (while mass transportation operated on a predetermined schedule), and to carry several people and their packages for one fixed price (while mass transportation charged fares for each person in a family or group). As a result, in Europe and North America the automobile became mass transportation's chief competitor.

The automobile is an individual technology. The convenience of the automobile freed people from the need to live near rail lines or stations; they could choose locations almost anywhere in an urban area, as long as roads were available to connect them to other places. Many states in the United States established motor fuel taxes that were used only to build and maintain highways. Thus, the auto highway system became largely self-sustaining.

Automobile ownership grew rapidly after World War II, particularly in the United States and western Europe. During the war, automobile motors, fuel, and tires were in short supply. There was an unsatisfied demand when the war ended and plenty of production capacity as factories turned off the war machine. Many people had saved money because there was little to buy in the war years. Workers relied heavily on mass transportation during the war and longed for the freedom of the automobile.

As automobiles became more widespread, there was political and economic pressure to expand the road network. A demand for housing, particularly single-family homes, was met in the United States with government loans and other incentives to expand housing in suburban areas. Life in the suburbs became feasible with the automobile, which provided mobility everywhere, anytime. Thus, after World War II, at least in the United States, the automobile, the auto industry, the urban road network, and the suburbs grew together.

The result was a dispersed urban geography, often called sprawl, which characterized not only the suburbs of large cities but also whole cities that experienced the bulk of their growth after the automobile became popular. It is a dispersed market that is difficult to serve economically with mass transportation.

II. Look through the text again and answer the following questions:

1. Why did the car become increasingly popular for travelers?

2. What other convenience did the automobile give to people?

3. What were the fuel taxes in the United States used for?

4. Why do you think during the war, automobile motors, fuel, and tires were in short supply?

5. Why there was the political and economic pressure to expand the road network after the war?

6. Did the appearance of the automobile influence the development of suburbs and big cities? What way?

III. Match the words with their definitions and make up your own sentences with these words:

1. technology a) an engine of a vehicle;

2. ownership b) to create or set up smth. on a permanent basis;

3. demand c) a residential district on the outskirts of a city;

4. motor d) agility, liveliness, ability to move physically;

5. to establish e) legal right of possession, proprietorship;

6. available f) to keep in proper or good condition

7. suburb g) an interconnected group or system;

8. mobility h) obtainable or accessible;

9. network i) the application of practical sciences to industry;

10. to maintain j) an urgent requirement or request;

IV. Read the following statements and discuss them with a partner:

1. At the beginning of the 20th century the automobile entered the transportation market as a toy for the rich.

2. The convenience of the automobile freed people from the need to live near rail lines or stations.

3. Motor fuel taxes were used to build and maintain highways.

4. After World War II plenty of production capacity turned off the war machine.

5. The automobile became mass transportation’s chief competitor.

6. The auto industry, the road networks and the suburbs grow together.

Giving your opinion you may find the following expressions helpful:

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