New housing is pretty much the only valid reason to build public transit. Good transit is expensive. The people who already live in the area are not willing to

New housing is pretty much the only valid reason to build public transit. Good transit is expensive. The people who already live in the area are not willing to pay enough to justify the investment. They have already figured out their lives without the transit. If you want transit, you have to build it primarily for new residents. And the costs should be covered by increased land value, usually either by taxing the land, selling it, or developing it. Trying to cover investment costs with fares just destroys the value of the investment.