One insurmountable problem I see with advancing mass transport is that people simply aren't willing to spend as much on public transport than they are cars beca

One insurmountable problem I see with advancing mass transport is that people simply aren't willing to spend as much on public transport than they are cars because they believe they have an equity investment in the car. Most people I know get upset spending any more $75-100/mo on a monthly transit pass, but are willing to pay $400/mo on car expenses since they "own" the car. As a result, I don't think really good systems will ever emerge except for where there is massive subsidization, and even those cases suck. For instance a few years ago when I looked San Francisco MTA had a budget of $750MM but only sold $110MM in tickets. The only bright spot I see are company run shuttles. The other problem I see is that most people appear to be irrationally scared of cycling in cities/urban areas, even though most city cycling occurs at really slow speeds. I have been a cyclist in San Francisco for five years with only a few minor incidents. Whenever I talk to people who aren't cyclists about commuting in the city, they often respond as if I have an impending death clock over my head. For people who think cycling is a major health boon: it really isn't unless you're commuting >5mi/each way or doing a lot of climbs. It's not that hard most of the time. I get way more out of a 30-40minute/run or squats in the gym.