People want cars not trains because current trains are such an awful experience. This wouldn't necessarily be the case if trains were improved to the standards of some other countries.

I suspect Americans think trains are an awful experience not because of the trains, but because there will be other people on the trains. It's one part "don't make me interact with a human," and one part "white people don't ride busses."

It might also be one more part actually creepy people, but I bet most folks don't get that far into their evaluation.

Yep! pee seats for starters, no bathrooms (hence the pee seats), not grocery shopping friendly (load up the old trunk), weed smell (I think this is more of a 2009 and later issue at least in the West), and then there's the spooky people, knife attackers, the guy that keeps sneezing, late arrivals, early departures (miss the train?)... anyhoo. I think I just about killed it.

Dahir Semenov's gyroscopic, top-heavy, median-exploiting transit concept is perhaps quixotic, but interesting. Below is a derisive article on the subject. https://www.theverge.com/2017/8/27/16203096/traffic-gyroscop...

I understand this for inside a city, using a car is more pleas sent then sharing a bus or metro with strangers but when you travel a long distance you use a plane so all the comfort is gone, it would be better to have a high speed train , you still share it with strangers but if you are rich you can afford better accommodations including beds, you can walk and stretch your legs and there may even be spots for smokers. Maybe the average person travels only a few times with a plane so he can endure it.

> using a car is more pleas sent then sharing a bus or metro with strangers

Not when it means you're stuck in a traffic jam. In a big city I'd take decent metro system over a car any day.

Even between cities. For a while I was driving between Portland and Seattle pretty often, and the traffic was always awful! I would love to be able to take a HS train.

I certainly think it's better to be stuck in a traffic jam and sit in your own car than stuck in a traffic jam inside a packed vehicle full of other (sometimes extremely unpleasant) people.

If properly designed, you don't get traffic jams on public transport though. Trains have dedicated tracks, and buses can be given bus lanes.

But you can do something else if you’re not driving.