North american urban mass transit, 1890–1950: What if we thought about it as a type of technology?1

Abstract

Summary Arguing that the historical literature on North American urban transit has neglected its social shaping, this essay views the network from the vantage point labelled the “consumption junction” by R.S. Cowan; that is through the eyes of riders. The essay discusses five consumer concerns that influenced their willingness to use public transit: air quality (the smoking issue); vehicle noise; speed of the journey; novelty (the equipment's modernity and status appeal); and security from sexual harassment. It concludes that transit systems were built on faulty sociological premises, that made it difficult for them to please their clientele, rendering them vulnerable to automotive competition.

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