Public transit is politically toxic in the US, in part because the middle and upper classes view it as "handouts to the poor" and don't want to use transit serv

Public transit is politically toxic in the US, in part because the middle and upper classes view it as "handouts to the poor" and don't want to use transit services with poor/homeless people on them, because "they smell" or are loud or what have you (to be fair, public transit can get pretty loud and smelly). These are problems that can be solved with sufficient funding and infrastructure, but instead US public transit services cut service coverage, remove benches from stops, raise ticket prices, and fail to do necessary maintenance. Plus in most areas NIMBYs also block expansion. When I was in my teens attending community college back home, it was regularly discussed how there was work ongoing to expand our local public transit rail so it would reach the campus. At the time it was 3 hours on the bus (w/transfers) to reach campus so I had to get a ride or drive myself (~20 mins) to get there. ~10 years later the expansion still hadn't happened because people were fighting hard to block it.