It's a lot easier to wax lyrical about mass transit when your entire nation is about the size of Alabama.

I didn't have a car until I was almost out of college, and managed okay with buses, a lot of transfers, a bike, and a set of Red Wing boots. But believe me, I liked having a car a lot better. It goes where you want to go, when you want to go there. I think that simple fact is much more important than any wise cracks about "displacement."

I dare say a lot of people who don't have a choice about riding buses to work would much rather drive a car, and when you start dealing with a family and kids, it gets even harder to coordinate daily needs with mass transit.

If you are commuting back and forth to the same place every day, and you're on a train line or something, it can work very well for you. The local Peninsula train connection between San Jose and San Francisco sees a LOT of use, and ridership has gone up with the new express trains. Still doesn't make money, though.

I think P.J.'s point on the immense amount of money being pumped into systems that don't have a real demand is a good one. You could make a case for outfitting every house in America with space-quality solar panels on the roof, if cost were no object.