University of California Transportation Center

One of the more disappointing transportation trends of the 1980s was mass transit's declining market share of metropolitan trips throughout the United States. Despite the infusion of tens of billions of dollars in public assistance for constructing new facilities and supporting bus and rail operations, transit's nationwide share of total commute trips fell from 6.4 percent in 1980 to 5.3 percent in 1990. In California, while transit journeys rose in absolute numbers during the 1980s (one of the few states where this was the case), transit's share of commute trips fell in the state's four largest metropolitan areas, despite their new rail systems: greater Los Angeles - 5.4 to 4.8 percent; San Francisco Bay Area - 11.9 to 10 percent; San Diego - 3.7 to 3.6 percent; and Sacrament - 3.7 to 2.5 percent. Nor do these trends appear to be slowing. Recent studies show Southern California's drive-alone rate increasing from 77 percent in 1992 to 79 percent in 1993. Given that California has invested over $10 billion state-wide in urban rail transit infrastructure and is poised to spend upwards of $160 billion more over the next thirty years, these trends are worrisome.