Americans by and large don't favor more public transit, at least not at the ballot. Instead, they prioritize their personal convenience to go where they want, when they want, how they want in their own vehicle. That's why we've been a car country for decades. While there is more public transit on the northeast coast due to congestion at critical mass, it's simply not shared by 80 percent of the country because driving yourself is the norm. Now, with higher costs of living, inflation, fuel prices and astronomical new car prices, public transit is finally coming into demand more as people have to budget. However, existing systems have been funded for basic operation and primarily to serve urban centers the most were riders can help offset the cost in numbers. With a resistance to pay for new systems and their cost, public transit isn't going to improve, and people will still think they pay too much already. Instead, what needs to happen is that gas taxes that already exist should be shifted more towards public transit so that those who insist on driving pay for the public systems. This is not a tax increase per se, it's a shift from paying for more roads for cars and transfers to government general fund accounts where the tax money gets used for anything. Of course, most people don't look at in that way; they only look at the existing system, note how it's poorly run, and then don't vote for any transit system changes. So the problem continues going nowhere but down.

Is crime on public transit really increasing? Anecdotally, I know that's the sentiment, but I can't tell if it's an illusion created by my social media echo chamber, or if it's the reality. Living in LA, I don't ride public transit enough to form my own opinion.