The last stop: what happens when a US city’s subway starts to die?

Once a national model for sustainability, San Francisco's Bart is facing a dire future as ridership slumps. What lessons does it hold for the city, and for the promises of public transportation?

On a bright day in early June, a crowd of activists dressed in black gathered in downtown San Francisco for a funeral procession. The crowd wailed and shared impromptu eulogies, not for a person, but for a public transit system.

Ashes to ashes. Bus to bus", one intoned, as the pallbearers carrying cardboard replicas of trains and buses on top of coffins lay them to rest in front of city hall.