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What is in the public good is in the eyes of the beholder.  Obviously, in a representative republic, if the majority of the people's representatives believe it is in the public good, it will happen. Given passenger rail's paltry ridership numbers in relation to the total number of people moving about the United States in the modes of transport available to them, claiming that passenger rail is in the public good is a bit of a stretch. I have never argued for duplicate roadways anymore than I would argue for dual electric transmission and distribution systems, i.e. duplicate poles and wires, although Lubbock gave it a go.  What I have argued for is that each mode of transport should pay the full note without any subsidies.  That includes subsidies for rail, air, and highways. Highways are not intended as profit centers.  They are common access areas that are paid for directly or indirectly by the users. Whether the users pay their share has been and probably will continue to be debated far into the future. I don't know where the $150 billion comes from.  In FY10 the federal government transferred approximately $14.7 billion from the General Fund to the Federal Highway Trust Fund (HTF); $4.95 billion was counter transferred from the HTF to the mass transit, bikeways, etc.; $1.2 billion was transferred from the HTF to other funds, e.g. Land and Water Conservation Fund; and 569 million was transferred from fuel and fees to the General Fund. Thus, the net transfer to the HTF was approximately $8 billion or roughly $38 per licensed motorists as per 2009 numbers. Based on IRS tax return data for 2009, approximately 46 per cent of those filing a federal income tax return had a federal income tax liability. This means that they pay taxes to the federal government.  Thus, to the extent that motorists had a tax liability, they pay the $38 to the General Fund that was subsequently transferred to the HTF. Moreover, in Texas, 25 per cent of the gasoline and diesel taxes go to public education.  Although these numbers are somewhat dated, here is some data from the United States Department of Transportation National Transportation Statistical Handbook that sheds some interesting light on subsidies: Table 2: Net Federal Subsidies to Passenger Transportation by Mode FY 1990 - 2003.  The 2003 numbers are incomplete. In 2002 the Net Federal Subsidy to Transportation in 2000 Chained Dollars was $8.2 billion. $-4.2 billion was transferred from the HTF to other modes of transport or to the general fund. "Net federal subsidy is estimated as federal outlays minus federal receipts from transportation taxes and user fees. Actual outlays and receipts are used in the calculation. Negative numbers show user charge payments to the federal government in excess of cost responsibility."  $4.0 billion went to commercial and general aviation; $7.3 billion went to public transit, and $1.1 billion went to railroads.  Presumably most of this money went to Amtrak. Table 4:  Net Federal Subsidies Per Thousand Passenger Miles by Mode FY 1990 - 2002:  All modes was $1.63; highway was $-95; commercial aviation was $5.87 (total air was not available for 2002, but in 2001 it was $5.77); public transit was $151.36; and passenger rail was $199.90. Admittedly, the numbers are old.  However, my calculations from current data show essentially the same relationships. The notion that highway users are heavily subsidized by the feds is incorrect.  It is also incorrect for Texas.   No matter how often I present these statistics a significant number of people deny them. It cannot be so they claim, without adding a shred of data to support their contention.
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