[Karnickel]

> The "America is too spread out" argument is total bullshit.

In support of this statement, here is a map of "mega regions": http://www.america2050.org/sync/elements/america2050map.png

Source: http://www.america2050.org/maps/

Alternative: "The Mega-Regions of North America" http://martinprosperity.org/content/the-mega-regions-of-nort...

> All told, these dozen mega-regions span 243 metropolitan areas in the U.S. and Canada, more than six in ten of all U.S. metros. They have a combined population of more than 230 million people, including 215 million from the United States or 70 percent of the U.S. population. Together, they produce more than $13 trillion dollars in economic output, equivalent to three-quarters of America’s total GDP.

Vast regions of the US don't even matter for the purpose of this discussion. When you only look at those regions the problem is no different than in a lot of other countries. That is also the geographical level where public transport makes sense, it's per-region (and different regions may want to/have to solve it in very different ways since their respective situations are different), not one solution for the whole country.