If the transit only went from place A to place B and didn’t branch out into all the other places where it would be useful that would be the case, A functional mass transportation system needs to go to all the other places too, then people can get rid of their cars.

Here in Gothenburg where we have a well developed communal transit system it’s very easy to stop by at a mall or other commercal center on the way home (or to work) and buy whetever it is needed. The system utilizes a combination of buses in various sizes, trams and boats. Some rarely trafficked lines are on demand- IE you make a call and let them know you want to go along that line an hour in advance. The system can be improved, I don’t deny that, but it still enables us to go almost anywhere within the city.

We actually sold our car since we used it so rarely the brakes rusted. We take the tram every other week to a larger grocery store and buy food in bulk. Greens, breads and the like is purchased at a local store between the tram stop and our home or picked up downtown before heading home. Clothes, electonics etc are bought downtown or at one of the local malls. All travels to work/school and to friends are done with the trams and/or busses. I pay an equivalent to 150 USD (1065 SEK) every three months for the busspass which allows me unlimited travel day and nighttime on all lines within the centre zone. Which is huge and includes all the places I want to go.
The only time when we still need a car is when we go to IKEA to buy furniture. :)

It’s not the technology that’s the problem! The real costs are in right-of-way, and have *nothing* to do with the technology. The reason we don’t have high speed intercity rail is political, and can only change when we’ve first built out urban systems where we *do* have potential for political support.

We also need to be very careful about what we wish for. Mass transit commuting seems like a great idea, until you consider that people are still going to use their cars for grocery shopping and other short trips around town. Many people now combine those trips into their commute, but if they cannot do that easily, they will take their cars out after work to run a 10 mile errand trip with several stops. It’s hard for a car to warm up to its operating temperature under those driving conditions. Below the operating temperature of the engine and catalytic converter is when a car emits the most pollution. It is very likely that switching to commuter mass transit (even one using renewable energy) could lead to worse air quality rather than better.