There's this amazing new discovery that is all the rage throughout the country. It's called "free-market capitalism", and by golly, it sure does seem to make things better in the long run. Maybe you should give it a chance someday. Rather than forcing the majority (who vote against the light rail system) to pay for it through the force of government (read: gunpoint), you should leave it to entrepreneurs to find a way to provide it, using that curious new-fangled idea called "freedom of choice". They will provide it, once a sufficient number of people feel it is worth a sufficient fee to cover the expenses. These numbers will be reached as soon as traffic congreetion gets inconvenient enough. Traffic congestions will get to that point evetually via ever-expanding population growth. See how that works? It's really cool!
Until then, keep your enthusiasms out of my family's budget, thankyouverymuch.
And free market capitalism works just fine as long as some governmental entity isn't undermining it with hidden subsidies for a competitive mode. Check my earlier posts, and you'll find that the highway mode is subsidized in many ways, both at the federal and state levels. Some of these subsidies are overt, and many are covert, but one special interest or another will tell you just how important that subsidy is -- at least, to them.
Eliminate those highway subsidies, eliminate those hidden impediments like unions and the minimum wage, and then on a level playing field we shall watch individual and mass transportation compete. In densely populated areas, I can guarantee that mass transportation will win.