One of the main reasons public transit is so woefully underfunded here in the US is due to right-wing mythology. Right-wingers have spent literally decades building on the myth that they (right-wingers) are opposed to "big government" and such bagatelles as public schools, art museums, public parks, publicly-owned hospitals, and government-operated mass transit systems are costly, unnecessary, and a waste of taxpayer resources. It doesn't matter whether these memes are true or not, what matters is the fact that many of these politicians believe these memes and so do many of the people who vote for them, regardless of inconvenient and disconcerting evidence to the contrary.
Right-wing myths concerning mass transit have been further embellished beyond the "it's unnecessary" meme. To right-wingers, nobody rides mass transit, regardless of the evidence in front of their eyes and their own experiences when they're forced to ride it. They also firmly believe that everyone loves their cars so much that they'll never use mass transit, even when faced with horrendous traffic jams and lack of cheap or free parking or even lack of parking at their destinations.
Right-wingers have made certain exceptions regarding public transportation. Despite their hostility to "big government" mass transit, they line up like little troopers for more (government-funded) highway projects and public airports, despite the fact that both of these modes are heavily subsidized by the taxpayers.
It is not simply "the rich" that believe in these myths. These myths are also supported by members of the upper-middle class, many members of the suburban and exurban middle classes, and all too many "shirt-sleeve" voters.
I could go on to explain the links between right-wing hostility to mass transit and the links between right-wing politicians, big oil, and the highway lobby and links between right-wingers and their links to suburban and exurban developers, but that would require time I don't have.
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