WHAT IS HOLDING BACK THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEW TRANSIT SYSTEMS

INTENSIVE EFFORTS ARE BEING MADE TO CONCEIVE, DESIGN AND DEVELOP TRANSIT SYSTEMS TO MEET PRESENT AND FUTURE NEEDS. COMMUNITIES MUST BE ENCOURAGED TO TAKE THE RISK OF ESTABLISHING NEW AND DIFFERENT TRANSIT PERFORMANCE SPECIFICATIONS AND OF INSTALLING NEW AND DIFFERENT KINDS OF SYSTEMS TO MEET THESE STANDARDS. HOWEVER, THE DIFFICULTY IS THAT PUBLIC BODIES AND PUBLIC OFFICIALS TEND TO BE CAREFUL AND CONSERVATIVE FOR SEVERAL RESPECTED REASONS: (1) TRANSIT INVESTMENT IS AN IRREVERSIBLE PROCESS, AND A DECISION ONCE MADE HAS STRONG INFLUENCES FOR DECADES, (2) THERE ARE BUT LIMITED OPPORTUNITIES FOR LARGE DIRECT FINANCIAL RETURNS, (3) THERE IS NO CONTINUING SOURCE OF CAPITAL FOR TRANSIT INVESTMENT WITH THE CONSEQUENCE THAT IT IS DIFFICULT TO FIND THE MONEY NEEDED TO MODIFY AN EXISTING SYSTEM AND TO RECTIFY ERRORS, AND (4) TRANSIT FACILITIES ARE USUALLY CLOSELY INTERLOCKED SYSTEMS IN WHICH SIGNIFICANT TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGES ARE LIMITED BY THE INTERRELATIONS OF EACH SEGMENT OR SERVICE WITH OTHER PARTS OF SYSTEM. THE URBAN MASS TRANSPORTATION ADMINISTRATION IS MAKING A SIGNIFICANT START IN THE DIRECTION OF GATHERING AND KEEPING CURRENT DATA AS TO THE PERFORMANCE SPECIFICATIONS AND TECHNOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF DIFFERENT TRANSIT CONCEPTS AND SYSTEMS.