Motivation Factors for the Utilization of Mass Transit

Abstract

Whether one considers it a personal problem or not, traffic congestion on Oahu is getting worse. The private automobile, the dominant mode of transportation in this rapidly growing urban area, requires more and more highways to accommodate it. This means less space available for offices in the Central Business District (CBD) as well as destruction of the natural environment. More highways mean more feeder streets and parking facilities where the trip terminates, usually at common points in the urban core. This tends to defeat the purpose of coming there at all: more space would be devoted for the trip over than for the purpose itself! The history of transportation on Oahu, where in 1970 over 80 percent of the state of Hawaii's population lived, (State, 1973b) followed the same pattern as in the rest of the United States. The technological development of the automobile has had a great effect in destroying the mass transit industry. Passenger car registrations have grown from the turn of the century, dipping only during the Depression and World War II. (Schneider, 1965) In Hawaii, the car population is growing at a rate three times faster than our human population. (Cleaner Air Week, 1973) The dynamic growth of automobile usage has convinced many planners that the future city will be dominated by the automobile simply because people have an overwhelming desire to travel in their own cars.