Yes, but that’s the problem. Most people don’t live in a city like that. Mass transit makes a ton of sense in the NYC metro, and perhaps a handful of other very dense urban areas. But most cities aren’t especially dense, nor do they have a very large proportion of jobs in central business districts that are easily served by fixed-rail transit. So transit doesn’t offer much of a value proposition to most people in most cities.
At least, not to the riders - and not at cost. Transit is usually paid for not by the users, but the broader community. And it’s sold as a benefit to people other than the riders. For good reason, since most people don’t seen transit as being desirable as something for them to use personally, but as a way to make their car rides easier. This Onion article is frequently tossed around transit circles for gallows humor: