What New York subway tells us about the future of the internet

Crime, divided leadership and problematic innovation could all hold back its potential.

- Stephen Bush

The underground railway is an unappreciated wonder of the world. Invented in 1863 by private entrepreneurs in London who were looking to make money transporting suburban commuters to work, it spread rapidly across the globe.

One reason to visit New York's Transit Museum is it not only reminds you of how impressive an endeavor the city's subway (opened 1904) was but what an achievement all underground railways are.

Sadly it also provides a sobering reminder that progress isn't always inevitable. For those contemplating the future of another great wonder of the modern world—the open, public internet—the subway's example suggests it might be nearer its peak than we think.

A time traveler from New York in 1946—the year that its subway reached peak ridership, a figure it has never since equaled—would find the modern version remarkably similar. (I would say "easy to navigate," but of course the New York subway has never been easy to navigate.) The network is materially unaltered since then: it is just considerably grimier and suffering from decades of under-investment in infrastructure.

In contrast, the peers it once mocked—an advert at its peak crowed about the absence of 24-hour service in Paris—have continued to break records for ridership into the 21st century (albeit with blows to their numbers since the pandemic).