>I've heard that story plenty of times, but I have my doubts,
It's not a story, it's a goddamn historical fact[1].
>I'm sure there's a grain of truth in there, about lobbying - but was it really the decisive factor?
Of course not just lobbying, but also immense loads of corruption and monopoly practices[1].
>Streetcars were a very cool idea but unfortunately motor buses were better in every objective way.
Yeah, that's why streetcars in Europe were all replaced by buses just like the were in the US, and nobody builds "light rail" (read: streetcar systems) anymore anywhere.
Oh wait, exactly the opposite is true, because, well, street cars work, and[1].
The real reason you don't see streetcars is that the benefits of a public transit system are externalities[2], and so they must be funded by the government.
Streetcars were never simply not funded by the government in the way highways are funded -- because of things like [1] -- and so they were destroyed by companies that made [1] happen.
You're welcome.
[1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors_streetcar_consp...
[2]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Externality
It's not a story, it's a goddamn historical fact[1].
>I'm sure there's a grain of truth in there, about lobbying - but was it really the decisive factor?
Of course not just lobbying, but also immense loads of corruption and monopoly practices[1].
>Streetcars were a very cool idea but unfortunately motor buses were better in every objective way.
Yeah, that's why streetcars in Europe were all replaced by buses just like the were in the US, and nobody builds "light rail" (read: streetcar systems) anymore anywhere.
Oh wait, exactly the opposite is true, because, well, street cars work, and[1].
The real reason you don't see streetcars is that the benefits of a public transit system are externalities[2], and so they must be funded by the government.
Streetcars were never simply not funded by the government in the way highways are funded -- because of things like [1] -- and so they were destroyed by companies that made [1] happen.
You're welcome.
[1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors_streetcar_consp...
[2]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Externality