> In the US I've used public transport in New York City, Chicago and Washington DC and they all had significantly cheaper public transport than here in Sweden for example.

This doesn't seem to be true. A 30 day commuter pass in New York costs $127. https://new.mta.info/fares

In stockholm a similar pass costs 970 SEK, or about $100.

https://mitt.sl.se/sv/kop-biljett/#/periodbiljett

So public transit seems to be significantly cheaper in Stockholm than New York at least.