Is everyone aware of the General Motors streetcar conspiracy?
In the mid-20th century, auto and oil interests bought up electric streetcar systems across the US and systematically replaced them with bus routes and paved roads, funneling commuters toward private cars.
General Motors streetcar consp...
This is an actual conspiracy, not a conspiracy theory. Some of the replies and quotes show people who don't read. General Motors and related companies were actually convicted of doing this.
@davidho.bsky.social they reference it in Who Framed Roger Rabbit. The villain buys a street car line and dismantles it so people have to take his freeway
Aug 3, 2026, 11:13 PM@davidho.bsky.social complicated
This was part of it yes
Part of it was also… many people wanted to drive, and they had reasons.
Many streetcars were built by private real estate speculators to sell lots and developments, then promptly neglected. Some streetcars were made of wood. Many did not have heat and were very cold in winter.
Many of them were single-track and had 1-2 cars total for huge stretches. So it would often be a 45 minute to 2 hour wait. This was less true in cities (where they were often well-maintained), but in fringes of cities or interurbans, it was a long wait.
GM *did* buy and rip out many streetcars in city cores. But just as often, cities ripped them out themselves.
In many cases, buses were a legit upgrade to the streetcar.
It’s a mixed bag.
Aug 3, 2026, 11:14 PM@davidho.bsky.social a less discussed fact is many streetcars were torn out during WWII due to reduced demand + steel was needed in the war effort. A lot of abandoned railways got ripped up for steel too.
Aug 3, 2026, 11:20 PM@Elizafox@social.treehouse.systems @davidho.bsky.social@bsky.brid.gy nowadays they neglect public transit on purpose to force people to use cars instead, while claiming cars are always better
@davidho.bsky.social Who knew that "Who framed Roger Rabbit" was partly based on reality?
@davidho.bsky.social Ah. Did you only just learn that "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" was a documentary?
They also demolished most of America's intercity light rail network and had the tracks destroyed. And got Eisenhower and Congress to build the nationwide interstate highway system in order to allow them to sell a hell of a lot more oil and gas, thereby killing the planet.
@davidho.bsky.social
Another evil thing about the interstate highway system: by law, there had to be straight flat stretches every so often to allow military planes to use them as runways in the event of a public uprising.
Also there are plans on file at every major airport to convert passenger jets and planes to military use.
Aug 4, 2026, 5:42 AM@davidho.bsky.social @salixsericea pretty sure that’s the plot of Who Framed Roger Rabbit.
Seriously.
Aug 4, 2026, 4:36 PM@davidho.bsky.social in the 19th Century Railway companies did something similar with Canals, this Capitalism lark is absurdly wasteful....