Originally Posted by cbn42

There are actually an increasing number of private companies providing mass transit. Greyhound is the best example, but there are other bus companies like Peter Pan or Megabus, that don't rely on any government support and are there to generate a profit.

There are also contractors that operate services for a city, such as Veolia.

However, I think the fundamental difference is that in the US, highways and roads are heavily subsidized by the government, so mass transit really cannot compete without subsidies.