I think the reason many people refuse use public transit, me included, is because it is costly, the service sucks, and it takes twice as long to get anywhere.

I think the reason many people refuse use public transit, me included, is because it is costly, the service sucks, and it takes twice as long to get anywhere. The foul smell and filthy conditions that too often accompany the public transportation experience aren't good selling-points either. Where I currently live, the high-speed commuter trains, which only stop at a handful of hubs, come every 30 minutes during the morning and evening rushes, and then once an hour outside of those times. Even then, sometimes the train goes all the way to my destination, but other times, it stops and goes out of service half-way there, so I end up having to wait for 30 minutes for the next train. Regular trains, that stop at every station, arrive every 15 minutes, and are NOT coordinated, meaning that instead of being able to transfer by jumping off one train and walking across the platform to get on another, or waiting just a minute or two, I end up standing around for 12 minutes for the transfer train to arrive. In my case, I can drive to work in 40 to 50 minutes in heavy traffic, or I can take the train and get there in an hour and a half each way. Furthermore, rail passes are a joke where I live. They don't sell a pass for just the commuter train, or just between two commuting points. Instead, you have to buy the premium pass, which includes bus, train, and commuter rail services to everywhere the transit authority goes. I don't need that! A monthly commuter rail pass costs $198.00. I drive a Toyota Avalon Hybrid, and a rail pass ends up costing me about $100 more a month that I spend on gas. If we want to make public transit attractive, it has to be cheaper and faster than driving, otherwise nobody with an ounce of economic sense will do it. I lived in Japan for a number of years, and the train system there is one of the best in the world. It is cheaper and faster to use the trains there, so most people do. I never wanted to own a car while I lived in Japan. In their society, especially in big cities, it is cars that don't make economic sense. This is what must take place for a public transit society to exist in America, in my opinion. We can't provide an abysmal experience for riders, and expect anything to change.