(I also argue that it needs to be faster than individual transit. Unfortunately, individual transit is something people won't accept being slower, even if mass transit could make the whole trip faster.)
- Secure storage - Have a secure trunk locker located anywhere in the city. Entirely self-service mobility with no advanced reservation needed means you can park it anywhere in city or country.
- Peaceful getaway - Need a quiet minute away from all the stress and noise of your city? Or do you want a break from the droning silence of the countryside? Both needs can be accommodated. Cars can provide a quiet space wherever you want. Alternatively, cars can feature loud entertainment and/or powerplant system, forcing others to share in your chosen audio.
- Climate controlled sleeping - More and more Tesla and Prius owners are discovering the joys of unofficial "camping mode" which the cars will endure. Pair with the peaceful getaway above for maximal enjoyment.
- Personal autonomy - Need to feel in control of your life? We'll give you a personal racecar you can use to express your frustrations with modern society. There will be plenty of "lap traffic" to pass. (These unwitting racers are merely trying to arrive at their destination unscathed.)
- Status symbol - Enjoy the privilege of having others ask to ride in your car. Have others know to visit a 3rd party, because they see your car out front. Brag about the costs of maintaining your symbol, and use these woes to stratify yourself in the social hierarchy.
What stops me from using mass transit (including bus and rail service) is that its schedule in my town is totally inadequate. Stops are not frequent enough, service starts too late in the morning and ends too early at night, and travel time to most destinations is slower than by car. Fix these major problems and I happily use transit.
Anecdotally it is much worse in cases where the bus in question passes through areas where non-affluent white people will be getting on and off.
It varies depending on the size of the city, in my experience. NYC might be the most egalitarian city in America regarding public transit use. Other large cities are similar or slightly less so. In small cities, it's very much considered a low-income thing.
No, but subway funding and management is controlled by the state, not the city -- and the majority of residents of the state do not use transit. I get the impression that a lot of people in the state still think of NYC as the crumbling inner city of the 70's: the place where poor people live.
The governor is more interested in optics ("Now you can charge your phone on the bus! We replaced the tiles in this subway station!") than restoring service, let alone expansion. He has diverted funds from the subways to, among other things, pretty light shows on bridges and supporting failing upstate ski resorts. With the subways failing, those who can afford to are taking cabs and black cars more and more, which contributes to the traffic congestion crisis.
The mayor gets driven everywhere in a black SUV and seems to have never learned that not only to most of his constituents not commute in personal vehicles, the majority don't even own cars.
Additionally, the city has a LOT of public buses. In some ways (frequency, coverage), bus service in the city is much better than most of the rest of the country. In other ways, it's unusably bad (mostly, time to get from A to B due to traffic, too-frequent stops, silly winding routes, slow payment/boarding, overcrowding, inufficiently frequent service outside rush hour, bus bunching decreasing apparent/useful service frequency).
The NIMBYs and traffic enforcers all seem to believe that bus riders are "not us" (and yes, outside of a few crosstown corridors, bus riders average poorer than subway riders). The result is obstacles to the creation of bus lanes and busways, and utter lack of enforcement of those we do have.