I rode the (then) NOPSI buses all during my junior high, high school, and college careers. They were air-conditioned, and in those days the dregs of society hadn't completely taken them over, but it was still horrible to wait in rain and heat or cold at the stops. Believe me, I'd have loved and cherished the meanest beater car on the streets rather than ride the buses, but I had no choice. Then.
In '02, though, I had a week's temp work in downtown, about 5-6 miles from my place and across the bridge. Driving and parking downtown, as I'm sure a lot of you will agree, is no worse than the inner circles of H*ell. Fortunately RTA, as it's now called, had an express bus that stopped outside my compound and dropped me off two blocks from the temp job. I rode it all week, spent a lot less than I would have in gas and parking fees, and got home way earlier in the afternoon.
The express is gone now, and in any case it wouldn't get me to work uptown unless I transferred to another line. Big hassle.
If public transport were convenient -- meaning with frequent runs, on time, less expensive, and with fewer problems (including fewer felons-in-training) than using the car . . . you know, the way public transport once was . . . sure, I'd use it.