"Grade A" Writing on an Unpopular Subject

Book Review: Straphanger: Saving Our Cities and Ourselves from the Automobile by Taras Grescoe

In Straphanger, author Taras Grescoe gives us an excellent overview of mass transit in cities around the world. He has a keen eye for what makes a functional, transportation consumer friendly system.

While he admits a fondness for rail-bound solutions, he also gives us insight into dedicated bus networks. Grescoe thoroughly covers the subject as he takes us through mass transit in the United States, Europe, and Asia - what works, what needs work, and what isn't working. Even better, Straphanger is anything but dry; by making this a story of his personal explorations it reads more like a travelogue than a study of urban transportation.

The subtitle of the book is Saving Our Cities and Ourselves from the Automobile, and here is where Grescoe (and many other transportation engineers) come up a little short. He recognizes that it will take more than a "if you build it they will come" attitude to lure Americans out of their gas-swilling, carbon-spewing automobiles. He sees that the suburban sprawl of our cities (actually started by the early transit companies) contributes to the perception that one must have a car to get around. He admits that the automobile is endemic to American culture, that cars are part of the American identity.

But our love affair with the internal combustion engine goes much deeper than that. Having a car is not just a part of the American identity; for many people it is a part of their personal identity. It is an extension of themselves - in some cases pathologically so. Every commute to work is their own little Daytona 500, a chance to feel better about themselves as they drive to their menial job. They are not going to part with this visible sign of their self-importance, and they will (sometimes literally) kill anyone who tries to cut in on their turf. Mass transit? We'll drill every inch of this country before we let that happen.

As an advocate of mass transit myself, I admire the diligence that Taras Grescoe brings to Straphanger, and I can't fault him for not resolving the cultural defects that hinder any efforts to bring usable transportation solutions to this country. He has written a hugely readable book, that I fear will largely go unread.

(ed. This review was originally published July 5, 2012)