Driving lets you be independent, especially if you can fix your own car. Public transit leaves you totally dependent on the government.
And if you can't drive, how do trains or buses make you any more independent than taxis and rideshares do?
Who do you think maintains the roads you're driving on?
All those roads are practically open 24/7.
Meanwhile, for public transit there's just one real agency around me and it doesn't even go everywhere I might want to go. The lines operate at whatever schedule that agency wants to operate them at. Those lines stop at like 2AM so I better be home before that or it's potentially a long walk home.
The number and type of people who complain when roads are bad means the government pays more attention to that than buses.