Public Transit Use Booming, So Why Is It Struggling?

Is your city's public transit suffering?

Chances are, yes. Ridership on public transportation nationwide has increased exponentially - and is now at its highest level in the past 52 years, according to the Washington Post - but transit systems are struggling to keep up. According to the American Public Transportation Association, ridership rose on 14 of the nation's subway systems (3.5 percent), 20 of 21 commuter rail systems (4.7 percent) and 20 of 26 light-rail systems (8.3 percent). The financial crisis has hit transit hard (I wrote about three systems struggling with their loans, backed by AIG, in October) in particular because many cities made financially risky deals with banks to fund their transit systems. Now, they're finding themselves with no choice other than to make drastic cuts that could leave people across America paying more for buses and subways, or worse - without service.

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