Transportation spending accounts for 2.7%, or $234 billion, of the 2012 proposed federal budget. Only $8.3 billion is slated for the Federal Railroad Administration. Although the White House has stated that its goal over the next 25 years is to give 80% of Americans access to high speed rail, the development of mass and rapid transit systems faces many roadblocks, both financial and cultural.

With the exception of New York City, where 54% of workers commute via public transportation, every metropolitan area in the United States has one preferred means of transportation: the car. Keep reading →