Transportation: Getting around town: Automatic urban transit: Prospects for personal and group rapid transit hinge on technology, safety, politics, and economics

One positive consequence of the gasoline shortage of 1974 was the resurgence of interest in public transportation. Many people were forced to abandon their private automobiles and take buses or subways or join car pools in order to get to work. Yet, when gasoline again became readily available, it seems that not everyone returned to the private car. The undeniable aggravation of air pollution, of urban congestion, and of fuel shortages caused by the automobile have focused considerable public and political attention on the need for improved urban transportation. In late 1974, President Ford signed a bill allocating $11.8 billion for the construction and operation of public transit systems. At about the same time, the highly automatic Bay Area rapid transit (BART) system became operational over its entire 71-mile route in the San Francisco Bay Area. A similar automatic system is under construction in Washington, D.C., and another one is planned for Atlanta, Ga.