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but essentially the ridership is going down, the cost is going up.

The facts are:

How many people use public transportation? In 2001, Americans took 9.7 billion trips using public transportation, an increase of 3 percent more than the previous year, outpacing growth in other travel modes. In the past six years, public transportation ridership in the U.S. has grown by more than 24 percent, faster than highway or air travel. The equivalent of almost a million new trips on public transportation were added each day in 2001.
APTA estimates that over 14 million Americans ride on public transportation each weekday. The U.S. Department of Transportation estimates another 25 million use public transportation less frequently but on a regular basis.

Operating funds provide income for operational expenses. Most operating funds originate from local sources (73 percent). Passenger fares pay for 35 percent of operating expenses, local governments contribute 24 percent, and non-governmental sources and taxes levied by the transportation system, tolls and fees, 14 percent. State and federal governments contribute 22 percent and 5 percent, respectively.

Source: American Public Transportation AssociationRidership is increasing and passengers pay 35% of the operating costs on a national average.

As a conservative, I approve of federal matching funds for construction of transit systems. But I don't agree with federal contributions to operating expenses, even though they amount to only 5% of the cost. Those are costs that should be covered by passenger fare increases and/or local and state governments. I have no problem with state and local governments providing such subsidies as they deem necessary in their specific situation. Good transit systems facilitate commerce in congested urban areas, helping to expand the tax base while accommodating growth.

Look, I'm not going to go tit-for-tat with you on statistics. Ridership on the light rail in my county has gone down, the cost-per-mile is outrageous, and it largely is a wealth transfer (do a search on the San Jose Mercury's website for light rail). The APTA is an advocacy group and it's statistics need to be viewed from that viewpoint. I think the best piece I've seen on public transportation is from the Onion which "reported" that "98 percent of US commuters favor public transportation for others". It's hilarious how all these public transportation advocates ride their care everywhere and assume everyone else will suffer public trans.

As far as i'm concerned they should eliminate all forms of public transportation!

Don't tax me to move someone else form point A to point B.

I don't know of any transit system that starts where a person is and goes to where they want to go and never at the time they need to go.

The last time I was on a public transportation system, other than an airliner, was in 1945 when I got my bicycle! The bicycle went into the trash in 1952 when I got my 129mph in the quarter 40 Ford!

passengers pay 35% of the operating costs on a national average."

You realize that is a pathetic number. It should be 100%. For highways, it is: Gas taxes fund highways construction and people pay for their own private vehicles, so the whole system is funded by the users.

YOu cant say that about these light rail boondoggles.

See figure 10. The average is under 30% ...

http://i2i.org/Publications/IP/Transportation/isrtdone.htm

And the LRT advocates miss the point about congestion and why it will NEVER clear up, unless you out and out build more highways: Once the congestion level falls to make driving better than riding people will go back to cars.
The 15mph LRT average is not compelling. fixed rail would be far more effective, but is simply not useful in low-to-medium density cities - this leaves mass transit fans bereft of a scheme. so they push the worst-of-all-worlds light-rail system . a mistake, THOSE CITIES SHOULD SIMPLY BUILD HIGHWAYS and use carpooling lanes for congestion reduction.