ABSTRACT
Social, economic, and political developments and trends combined with related practices create the culture, in the terminology of anthropology, within which accessibility to public transportation is achieved. This chapter examines this culture-the larger social context in which accessible transportation is embedded, and, the policies and operations that are used to implement it. Public transportation in these older cities have benefitted from an infrastructure that makes driving both difficult and expensive, an historic familiarity with public transportation use, and an economy that contributed to the prominence of their inner cities as a work location. Larger systems may have their own maintenance operations, repair shops, and even a real estate development operation. Historically, older transportation companies have extensive landholdings, sometimes including commercial facilities they have developed and through which they earn income. The smallest operations may not even own their own vehicles, relying on vendors to furnish and maintain their vehicles.
