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Why US (Passenger) Trains Aren't Taking Off

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Most people prefer driving to public transit, including commuter trains, for a variety of reasons, and they will, for the most part, continue to do so as long as they can afford it.I am retired.  I rode public transit to work for 39 of the 41 years that I worked for corporate America.  I was, by the way, an accounting manager (CPA), controller, audit manager, IT audit manager, and Director of Internal Audit for the Australia subsidiary of a Fortune 250 company.  My forte was cost accounting, business process engineering, and IT.Advocates of public transit like to point out its many benefits, i.e. stress reduction, comfort, cost, etc.  They talk about being able to read or snooze while avoiding the stress of driving.  But in their zeal to promote public transit they overlook some of the downsides.  Over the years I have encountered many riders who were not very pleasant.  Some must have believed that bathing was an inconvenient option to be exercised as infrequently as possible.  Others did not know enough to stay home when they were sick, thereby infecting their fellow riders or at a minimum disturbing them with a hacking cough.  Many didn't seem to know enough to cover their months while spreading their germs.  People playing radios loud enough to hear through their ear phones, engaging in loud conversations, sprawling across several seats and daring people to ask them to move, are also features of riding public transit.  And over the last decade, thanks to the cell phone craze, transit riders have been annoyed by jabbers yakking in their ear.  Trying to read or snooze while a fellow passenger is shouting into his or her cell phone is a challenge.  Given an option most people who can afford to drive will continue to do so, even if it means traffic delays and the frustration that accompany them.  Most of my friends who have tried public transit shun it.  They would rather drive, with all of its hassles, because they believe it is more comfortable and convenient.  I participate in a continuing education program at the University of Texas.  I take a commuter bus to school.  But of the 1,500 people who participate in the program, fewer than 10 use public transit to get to the university.  When I tell them that I take the bus to school, they look at me as if I have three eyes.    I have also noted with interest that many of those who advocate for long distance trains are those who can afford to travel first class.  That is to say, they can afford a sleeper.  I suspect their ardor for long distance trains would subside quickly if they had to sit up in a coach for a night or two.
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