Background

Mobility will not be denied to people who need transportation services if they have some resources to spend or if the society in which they live recognizes its obligations. A way will be found everywhere, except in places in the most desperate economic state, to move urban residents, even if the systems have to be improvised and generated through local entrepreneurship.

If city buses do not or cannot reach all districts, or if the service is very sparse, neighbors will start running their own cars along obvious routes and offer rides to others (for an affordable fee). If low-wage, but essential, employees cannot reach job places by themselves, employers will have to pick them up with their own vehicles. If nondrivers who live in American low-density suburbs need to go anywhere, they should be able to call for a community-based service that costs less than a regular taxi. If affluent commuters are not pleased with the quality of regular transit, besides opting for the private car, they may pay premium fares for special services. If many people have to reach a specific node repeatedly (an airport, shopping center, or major institution), but they wish to do that with greater comfort and speed than a bus can provide, some sort of shuttle service will be initiated sooner or later.

All this is paratransit a service that is not quite full public transit and that has some of the convenience features of private automobile operations. It is most often smaller in...