“The numbers show a consistent trend of Americans shunning the use of mass transit, especially by comparison to their European counterparts. Even during the recent recession, transit use barely grew. From 2002 to 2009, the share of all trips taken on a bus increased 0.3 percent and rail by 0.1 percent. Public transit has not been popular in the US since the end of World War II. The study noted German transport systems are far more efficient, with motorists and other taxpayers subsidizing each bus or subway trip by $1.82, compared to the $5.09 per-passenger subsidy in the US. Fares cover just 33 percent of the cost of public transit operations in the US.”