[lxgr]

> Obsessed with trains. They are unreliable and expensive.

As a visitor, I've always experienced them as very reliable, extremely frequent, and very affordable compared to all alternatives.

> Even the London Underground doesn’t pay for itself with tickets, needing subsidies from tax payers.

Compared to roads, which are somehow self-funding? And that's not even considering all the other negative externalities of dense but car-centric cities.

[ajeet_dhaliwal]

Drivers and residents pay additional taxes to maintain roads and pay for their own cars. You can’t get tax payers to maintain your own car.

[lxgr]

Why should I pay taxes (as a resident non-driver) for somebody else's car if they don't pay taxes for the train I much prefer to use?

[ajeet_dhaliwal]

They do. That’s my point. Train riders are subsidized. Car drivers are not

[lxgr]

Do you really believe that all car-related costs to society are completely paid for by car-related taxes and fees?

[bendigedig]

This is a complete fallacy. Car owners might pay for their cars but the annual emissions tax doesn't come close to covering the cost of roads and their infrastructure.

Road transport is subsidised to a far larger extent than rail travel is.