This is a cultural difference between America and Japan.
I think that's a myth.
Americans will take whatever mode of transportation is the most convenient way of getting to whereever it is that they want to go.
It could be a car, trolley, bus, bicycle, skateboard, boat, monorail, plane, balloon, motorcycle, rocket, snowmobile, donkey, minivan, SUV, high-speed rail, maglev, pogo stick, hang glider... and a hundred other ways I could dream up.
Americans like CHOICES.
And your mass transit obstructionism deprives them of having a CHOICE.
“I think that’s a myth.”
Given that the land of the free elected Obama, perhaps you are right that Americans would be willing to give up the freedom and independence of the automobile. I am betting on the opposite. My impression of Americans is just the opposite. People don’t take the bus unless they have no other option.
“Americans will take whatever mode of transportation is the most convenient way of getting to whereever it is that they want to go.”
Exactly. For the vast majority of Americans, that means the automoble. This is vastly different in Japan. Part of the problem is that with the train, you still need to get from the end of the train to wherever you are going, and you still have to do something about your car on the other end. It’s simply unattractive.
“And your mass transit obstructionism deprives them of having a CHOICE.”
Levying increased taxation deprives them of choices. I’ll take money in my pocket everyday so I can afford gas to drive, over having to shell out for an expensive boondoggle in California, which I’ll never see let alone use.
But I guess that’s what a national excise tax would be perfect for. White elephants.