There's a huge lag between building transit and it being able to cover its own costs. Truly, it's our zoning laws that have sunk the American city. There are

There's a huge lag between building transit and it being able to cover its own costs. Truly, it's our zoning laws that have sunk the American city. There are no good transit routes because everyone is living in cul-de-sac neighborhoods a half-mile from one another. There's no mixed-use zoning, so home, work, food, entertainment -- essentially everything -- is miles away from everything else. Thus the routes are intractable to build gradually and a critical mass of ridership disinterested until you have effectively a complete network on offer. Most US cities simply can't afford to run a money-losing transit system for two or three years. Even if you gifted them the money to build it.