Public transport is actually stupid cheap in most of the US, too... it's just slllllllllowwwwwwwwww. I used to take the bus to college. If the price of the bus pass wasn't rolled into my tuition, it would have been three bucks a day for sixteen miles. On that route, it took about as long as driving and had the distinct advantage of dropping me off in campus, as opposed to the $8/day parking a quarter mile away. Same bus route went to a club I mixed at, too. Even followed the same route. Difference being the bus got there in an hour and a half. I could drive it in 20 minutes. Things get really stupid in LA - if you're on one of the subway lines you're golden. I could make it the six miles from North Hollywood to Hollywood and Vine faster than I could in a goddamn helicopter for $1.75. And while I could make it from the Long Beach Airport to NoHo for $4... it'd take three and a half hours.