Obviously it depends on the municipality, but in the UK for example, there's a (IMO deeply misguided) view that public transport should be cost neutral. That is

Obviously it depends on the municipality, but in the UK for example, there's a (IMO deeply misguided) view that public transport should be cost neutral. That is, the bus services in a city, say, should not be subsidised. This is to the point that it is actually illegal for city councils to run a bus services. The private contractors are consistently pushing against their minimal service obligations in areas that are less profitable.