The dependence on the car and the long commute and the traditional belief that building more roads alleviates rather than compound the problems of sprawl are increasingly being questioned. Evidence is mounting that the sprawl patterns, with their innate geometric and density inefficiencies have become unaffordable. A huge number of Californians now spend an hour or more per day in their car. Road rage is on the rise. The average Californian spends one dollar out of every five on buying, maintaining and insuring their cars.
Housing requiring a car to reach home can never be affordable.
Highway and automobile subsidies fueling urban sprawl are still in place today. Of course people can't leave their cars when the systems are designed to require a car. In LA, the Santa Clarita line of their Metrolink system carried about 900 passengers a day between the San Fernando Valley and Downtown. Following an earthquake that demolished the freeways, passenger usage jumped to 36,000 per day due to the fact that it took more time to drive using local streets than taking the Metrolink. As the freeways were reconstructed, revenue dropped to near pre-quake levels.