July-August_2021 - 15

I
t was June 1974, when the first
issue of an ambitious new magazine-Mass
Transit- became
a reality and the fulfillment of a
dream by its founding Publisher
and Editor Charles Carroll
Carter, who died at age 92 on
May 14, 2021.
As he made clear in his inaugural
editorial, Mass Transit
was created with one mission:
to break new ground as the first
international
trade magazine
with comprehensive editorial
coverage of " all forms of public
transit in cities " and to provide a
much-needed " forum for effective
communication between people in
every phase of the transportation
industry-including local,
state
and federal government officials,
planners and developers, manufacturers
and users-the transit
riding public. "
This kind of communication,
he stressed, was " the source of
problem-solving for one of the
most critical questions confronting
America today: how best to
move people around in cities. " He
noted that " while there is no shortage
of goodwill, ideas, solid interest
and needs, there is a shortage of
money and time and precious little
to date by way of positive results. "
He warned that " America, with
its 100 million cars, is on a slow
crawl to urban mobility stagnation, "
but stressed that while the
" dilemma may be a national issue,
it is international in scope. "
By focusing on urban transportation
worldwide, Carroll clarified
that the magazine's goal was to
" inform, report and provoke discussions
that assist progress...so
that extraordinary talent and technology
can be applied to make it
possible for people to move about
our cities with convenience and
comfort and at a minimum cost. "
To aid that objective, he assured
readers that " Mass Transit is not an
organ or outlet for any special interest
group. We have no ax to grind.
No lobby to advance...our editorial
coverage will be factual, accurate
Susan Duke
and without favor to anyone. Our
only bias is a concern for urban
transportation in all its aspects. "
Insisting on insightful,
informed,
jargon-free editorial content
that any reader could easily
understand, Carroll called upon
the expertise of leading transportation
reporters in newspapers
nationwide and internationally
to provide articles that accurately
reflected the transportation needs
and issues in their cities-even if
it meant challenging the political
status quo.
The magazine's bold, graphic
design was unique at the time for
transportation publications and
was a visual expression of what
he saw as the fast-moving possibilities
for the future of public
transportation. That belief was
encouraged by the passage of the
1964 Urban Mass Transportation
Act providing $375 million for
large-scale public or private rail
A SCANNED copy
of the inaugural
cover of Mass
Transit from
June 1974.
projects in the form of matching
funds to cities and states. The act
also established the Urban Mass
Transportation Administration
(UMTA) and provided grants of
up to 50 percent for the costs of
transit improvements.
" Mass Transit is not an organ or outlet for
any special interest group. We have no ax to grind. No
lobby to advance...our editorial coverage will be factual,
accurate and without favor to anyone. Our only bias is
a concern for urban transportation in all its aspects. "
-CHARLES CARROLL CARTER
Further support came in 1970,
when President Richard Nixon
signed an act providing an additional
$12 billion in matching
funds to transit projects, followed
by President Gerald Ford signing
a bill in 1974 for an additional
$11.8 billion.
JULY/AUGUST 2021 | MassTransitmag.com | Mass Transit | 15
http://www.MassTransitmag.com
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