re: #1 No Malarkey!

I read once about an actual conspiracy (which I first heard about, weirdly enough, in the movie Who Framed Roger Rabbit) to buy up and shut down much of America’s public transportation in order to make us car dependent.

With LA, it wasn’t much of a conspiracy - it was more market forces and a failure of local governments to think ahead. As cars became readily available and affordable, people opted for them over taking the trolleys. The trolleys became less efficient (slower) as they had to interact with more cars, so more people opted for cars. Initial freeway designs did include rail lines in the center medians, but they were never adopted. And eventually the trolleys weren’t making money (they were privately owned), and by the time the local governments thought about buying them, it was too late for them to remain viable.