The use of light rail in the United States is low compared to some European countries, but higher than some other nations, such as Canada and Australia. According to the American Public Transportation Authority, of the 20-odd light rail systems in the United States, five of them (Boston, San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego and Portland, OR), achieve more than 25 million passenger boardings per year.
Compared with that of Canada, the United States federal government offers considerably more funding for transportation projects of all types, resulting in smaller portions of light rail construction cost to be borne at the local and state levels. This funding is provided by the Federal Transit Administration though as of 2004 the rules to determine which projects will be funded are biased against the simpler streetcar systems (partly because the vehicles tend to be somewhat slower). Some cities in the U.S. (e.g. San Pedro, California) have set about building the less expensive streetcar lines themselves or with only minimal federal support.
Read more about Light Rail In The United States: Baltimore, Boston, Buffalo, Charlotte, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New Jersey, Norfolk, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Portland, Oregon, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, St. Louis, Seattle–Tacoma
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—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
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Oxford Book of Light Verse, The. W. H. Auden, ed. (1938)
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—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)