United States: Encyclopedia II - United States - Transportation

United States - Transportation

Because the automobile industry took off very early in United States (when compared to other Western nations) much of the development of U.S. urban areas has taken place around the concept of creating cities and residential areas to suit the needs of road vehicles. The automobile industry was quick to attain influence in government and media alike, and was also the force behind the dismantling of the electric rail transport systems or trolleys in over 40 U.S. cities through a subsidiary called National City Lines. To link its vast territory, the United States built a network of high-capacity, high-speed highways, of which the most important element is the Interstate Highway system. These highways were commissioned in the 1950s by President Dwight D. Eisenhower and modeled after the German Autobahn. There is also a transcontinental rail system, which is used for moving freight across the lower forty-eight states. Passenger rail service is provided by Amtrak, which serves forty-six of the lower forty-eight states.

Many cities still have extensive mass-transit systems. The largest of them, New York City operates one of the world's most heavily used subway systems. The regional rail and bus networks that extend into Long Island, New Jersey, Upstate New York, and Connecticut are among the most heavily used in the world.

Air travel is the preferred means of travel for long distances. In terms of passengers, seventeen of the world's thirty busiest airports in 2004 were in the U.S., including the world's busiest, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. In terms of cargo, in the same year, twelve of the world's thirty busiest airports were in the U.S., including the world's busiest, Memphis International Airport. There are several major seaports in the United States; the three busiest are the Port of Los Angeles, California; the Port of Long Beach, California; and the Port of New York and New Jersey. Others include Duluth, Minnesota, Houston, Texas; Charleston, South Carolina; Savannah, Georgia; Miami, Florida; Portland, Oregon; San Francisco, California; Boston, Massachusetts; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Seattle, Washington; plus, outside the contiguous forty-eight states, Anchorage, Alaska, and Honolulu, Hawaii.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Transportation", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki