Transportation Guide and Directory
Regional Directory > Transportation
In the early 1800s, a six-passenger hackney offered rides within New York City's Bowery, and soon large vehicles called omnibuses provided transportation around Manhattan. By 1873, cable cars were introduced in several cities, and by 1915, trolleys were a popular means of urban travel. The trolley eventually gave way to the automobile, but still provides transportation in several cities, most notably San Francisco. Subways were dug underground to replace many trolley systems and in addition to city buses they are now the most widely used means of urban mass transit.
Although there were several working railroads in the United States prior to its arrival, the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad in 1830 was the first offering continuous passenger service. In the following years, railroading boomed in the USA, but business began to drop off as freight and passenger transport was gradually taken over by trucks, buses, and airlines. By the late 1960s, trucking had replaced rail as the dominant form of freight transportation, but Amtrak and Conrail have been providing continuous passenger and freight services since the 1970s.
U.S. air travel began in 1903 when the Wright brothers made the first
flying machine in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. Currently, there are
at least 15 major airlines in addition to commuter and regional services
offering passenger transportation or cargo shipping throughout the United
States and abroad.
The shipping industry can be traced back to oceangoing voyagers that sailed from Europe and used ships to trade along the Atlantic seaboard and down to the West Indies. Eventually steamships and clipper ships were introduced for use in the tea and opium trades between the U.S. and China. After the Transcontinental Railroad took shape, the shipping industry began to decline. As emerging air travel further depleted the U.S. shipping business, cruise ships began to provide luxury travel services and are still popular today. Waterborne cargo transportation is now provided by the United States Merchant Marine, a fleet of U.S.-registered privately owned ships.
In 1883, the Duryea brothers invented the first gas-fired engine, and Henry Ford came out with his famous Model T in 1908. By 1949, Ford, Chrysler, and General Motors were producing 85 percent of all American-made cars. It was the mass production of the automobile that has arguably brought about the greatest change to our lifestyle and economy, and is the most common form of transportation in the United States today.
For more information about transportation, visit the U.S. Department of Transportation website and browse through these books about various aspects of transportation.
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