  April 26, 2012  Public Transportation Transformation in
Southern California and the Environmental and Health Problems it
has Caused  Filed under: Energy,Los Angeles Politics,Pollution —
admin @ 6:15 pm  Los Angeles once had a thriving public
transportation system, mainly of electric streetcars owned and
operated by the Pacific Electric Company. Pacific Electric’s
trains branched out from the heart of Los Angeles for a radius
of 75 miles to San Fernando, San Bernardino, and Santa Ana
making (at the time) the world’s largest interurban electric
railway system (see Pacific Electric Railway picture for
details). Snell argues Pacific Electric is responsible for the
manner in which Los Angeles is geographically sprawled today.
The electric railways were first constructed in 1911, and it
“established traditions of suburban living long before the
automobile arrived” (Snell).  In 1940, General Motors (GM)
purchased $100 million worth of portions of the Pacific Electric
system under the auspices of Pacific City Lines