Railroads and streetcars were hugely profitable in the US, until the government subsidized cars by: - giving everyone high-quality roads - setting road tolls

Railroads and streetcars were hugely profitable in the US, until the government subsidized cars by: - giving everyone high-quality roads - setting road tolls to zero or almost nothing - making dense housing illegal to build with zoning laws - requiring businesses to provide free parking - requiring home builders to provide free parking - all the crap US does internationally to secure oil supply lines - not taxing pollution, noise, or other car externalities - enacting crazy regulations on railroads; for example, American railroads can't buy European trains, they must build their own custom-designed trains at enormous expense and on and on and on it goes, all at taxpayer (or business owner) expense. An American on a road trip thinks cars are cheap because everyone else is forced to absorb the cost.