It's not a reason to not fix the problem, but understanding the scope of the problem better might go a loooong way toward understanding why Americans are so hesitant and intimidated by thought of tackling it.  You are literally talking about radically changing the basic infrastracture of the 3rd largest country in the world.  It can and should be done.  But you are going to have a hard time convincing people if it seems you don't really have a good grasp of what you are proposing.  

Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. -Voltaire

Talking about mass transit without talking about fundamental shifts in urban planning and even fundamental shifts in our personal goals and life style is not going to go very far. The idea of the white picket fence two cars and 2.2 children - large lot on a dead end street in a suburb carefully designed to maximise the dead end streets is not viable - environmentally or economically.

We must understand what it means to say that this neighbourhood - (and the 500-1000-5000 whatever number of people who live in it) need to be redesigned so roads are friendly to mass transit. That the population density needs to be at least tripled to encourage economic activity and mass transit. We must deal with the mess we have now - intelligently. Sticking busses on the road and watch them drive around all day without any passengers on them will not make things better - and that is just what happens in the small city - large town that I live in.

_{aspiring to genteel poverty}