I'm reminded of an observation a friend once made... "Light rail is how middle class people get to work. Bus is how poor people pick up their welfare checks." That's his nutshell parody of the mentality that makes rail projects okay, while buses are still bad.

What makes it "welfare" is that it benefits poor people, not that the money comes from the government. What makes welfare "bad" is that it benefits poor people, not the middle class or the rich.