I will happily continue to vote for and fund our over-budget under-delivering mass transit projects, even though I (and the overwhelming majority of people providing said funding) won't be in a position to actually use them for the foreseeable future, because it's the right thing to do.

However, if someone tries to take my car before those alternatives are in place, we're going to have a problem. My problem will be getting to work. The transport authority's problem will be obtaining money from a hostile and/or evaporated tax base.

We build a better world by working together, not by raiding each other and hoping that somehow, in the aftermath, the mass fixes itself.

The people of the US won't if....

1. The alternative's include things they can own and control. This is really important in rural or suburban areas. It's also important for a lot of businesses. 2. The alternative's are handled in a cost effective rollout manner.

Basically, the solutions need to be in the public interest with them in mind. Not sure how that factors into startup and VC thinking these days.

I would imagine that eco friendly public transit systems could cut down on emissions, cut overall costs, and cut congestion in cities. That seems like a good place to target as low hanging fruit.

In the US you have a choice between insufficient/unaffordable urban housing, and suburban/rural living. In the former case a few people can take public transit, bike, walk, or work remotely, and yet urban congestion continues to worsen. In the latter case the vast majority need some form of private transportation to live. It's a big country, any solution is going to have a large technological component.