As the numbers of people and cars continue to increase (Even the rate of increase is increasing!) I see a time when more public transportation will be unavoidable. But unless such a system blankets an area so that you can go from anywhere to anywhere else, it won't ever work very well.
If I lived in London or New York or Honolulu, I probably wouldn't own a car. Those cities have good public transportation.
But where I live, the choices are drive or walk. I can't even get a bus into Knoxville, which is 20 miles away. There is no bus to the Wal-Mart or the grocery store. If I go to the airport, I drive. That's the only choice I have. It's been years since I've seen a taxi in my neighborhood. Around here, a subway is a sandwich.
In Nashville before WWII a nickle streetcar ride would take you just about anywhere in town. In 1948 I rode an interurban streetcar from Norfolk to Ocean View. The tracks ran through the woods.
San Francisco has everything from Bart to cable cars. Since the city only has one vacant parking place, which moves about constantly, a good public transportation system is essential.
Traffic is so bad in some places that a bicycle or a motor scooter is suicidal.
What are you going to do when you get older, your reflexes slow down, your eyesight fades and your kids take your car way? How are you going to get around? I know what you are thinking. Not very long ago, I was thinking that those days were too far in the furture to worry about. It may be later than you think. Good public transportation is already long overdue.
How"on the soapbox"ard