According to Jonathan, mass transit system did not die a natural death, rather it was a well-planned mission that was executed by General Motors to kill it. General Motors was an auto mobile company that produced and sold auto mobiles. During that time profits were going down and the need for gaining market share on the high number of Americans that depended on transport system arose, but it was at the expense of another transport system, the mass transit of street cars as GM and other oil companies steered the country into energy predicament.
In what was a well-planned move, GM persuaded Fitzgerald and his brothers who were operating street cars into buying transit franchise in Illinois. This is where it all started, for the brothers to purchase …show more content…
All the moves taken were well planned even with the clause in an agreement that required the automobile companies not to buy any street car or engine that was not propelled with gasoline. (p 20). To further show the selfishness of the companies, they decide to change the terms of gasoline to allow for the usage of diesel since the modern buses would be propelled by diesel, therefore they acted to save their own buy allowing the purchase of diesel fuel. The trial for violating the Sherman Antitrust Act, led to the fallout of merger companies as many of them were convicted for violating the Act.
In the film documentary, “Taken for a Ride”, Alfred P. Sloan, GM’s president at the time, said, “We’ve got 90 percent of the market out there that we can, turn into automobile users. If we can eliminate the rail alternatives, we will create a new market for our cars.” And if we don't, then General Motors' sales are just going to remain …show more content…
The narrator also add that the buses were hard to sell, and that the street cars smelled, inched through traffic and it took the hidden hand of general Motors to replace them with the yellow coach buses. The narrator also mentions how Fitzgerald was used as a front man to careful execute the plan. The voices that follow give an account of how things happened back then. Jim Holtzer narrates how back then word would come that they were being bought. Saying that Fitzgerald destroyed the public system that had been built to meet the needs of the people. The first rider also narrates how the street cars were fun since they were big and they loved riding in them. The next riders also narrate how they loved to see the conductor come to them, and the way it was fast made it the best mode of transportation
In what was a well-planned move, GM persuaded Fitzgerald and his brothers who were operating street cars into buying transit franchise in Illinois. This is where it all started, for the brothers to purchase …show more content…
All the moves taken were well planned even with the clause in an agreement that required the automobile companies not to buy any street car or engine that was not propelled with gasoline. (p 20). To further show the selfishness of the companies, they decide to change the terms of gasoline to allow for the usage of diesel since the modern buses would be propelled by diesel, therefore they acted to save their own buy allowing the purchase of diesel fuel. The trial for violating the Sherman Antitrust Act, led to the fallout of merger companies as many of them were convicted for violating the Act.
In the film documentary, “Taken for a Ride”, Alfred P. Sloan, GM’s president at the time, said, “We’ve got 90 percent of the market out there that we can, turn into automobile users. If we can eliminate the rail alternatives, we will create a new market for our cars.” And if we don't, then General Motors' sales are just going to remain …show more content…
The narrator also add that the buses were hard to sell, and that the street cars smelled, inched through traffic and it took the hidden hand of general Motors to replace them with the yellow coach buses. The narrator also mentions how Fitzgerald was used as a front man to careful execute the plan. The voices that follow give an account of how things happened back then. Jim Holtzer narrates how back then word would come that they were being bought. Saying that Fitzgerald destroyed the public system that had been built to meet the needs of the people. The first rider also narrates how the street cars were fun since they were big and they loved riding in them. The next riders also narrate how they loved to see the conductor come to them, and the way it was fast made it the best mode of transportation