[Northern Light]

2. This isn't a "build it and they will come thing with transit." You can't tow your jetski, RV, snowmobiles or boats with public transit.

Sure, agreed, but even the majority of Americans own none of the above.

There are also some real public safety concerns in North America but particularly in the US on transit systems.

Very exaggerated in Canada, I own a car, but I'm on the system 3x per week, I rarely witness anything even remotely threatening. (knock wood).

The U.S. is a different issue w/greater crime safety issues in every facet of life; but also a transit system culture that outside of NYC mostly captures captive riders.

As I outline above, whose relying on a 'subway that is 15M at rush hour and 28M in the evening), no one who has a choice is the honest answer.

3. Most of North America is more rural than you think and covering long distances is more difficult, if not impossible by public transit.

Going to disagree here. I think we would agree to a great degree on auto-centric living arrangements, but your use of the word rural I see as problematic vs suburban or ex-urban.

Those forms aren't particularly conducive to transit, though it needs to be said, you could say that for much of Brampton whose transit ridership rivals Dallas (Dallas 46M, Brampton 41M)

4. Public transit can augment personal travel needs but for many it just won't replace it.

Sure.

I used to use the TTC quite a bit but I essentially abandoned it about seven or eight years ago. Too many service failures, too many crazies and day after day a poor trip experience.

I think that's unfortunate, and there is certainly lots of room for the TTC to improve; but in the same time period, and still owning a car, I've gotten more transit use rather than less.

I would suppose a great deal of that may have to deal with location, I'm closer to downtown than you and probably benefit from more frequent surface routes. But, also, I think your tolerance for urban environments seems like it may be a bit less than my own.

Anyone who thinks public transit is somehow going to get rid of personal vehicles needs to give their head a vigorous shake.

Did someone make that case and I missed it?

I've used Bike, car and public transit for my commuting needs over the years and the car won.

I will always tell people, respectfully not conflate an anecdote with a statistically significant trend. Evidence rules.

......Transit vs car isn't a zero sum game and there is no reason why both can't coexist.

Agreed. I like to go camping at least once a year, but also go out of town to hike from time to time. Trips that are respectively, impossible by transit and very challenging.