It's free to park in a lot of places. Owning a car means you can go where you want to go pretty much when you want to go. It may take you longer than you want, but these freedoms are apparently ones that people are willing to suffer some congestion in order to have. The Surface Transportation Policy Project, a coalition of public interest and professional organizations, said many residents have no choice but to drive. There are no express bus routes nor train systems that can take them from home to work.
Rail goes just as fast full as empty.
That is the ultimate technological difference between trains and roads. When roads get full, the trip gets slower, whereas a full train is just as fast as an empty one. The transportation institute said congestion grew at a slower rate in communities that aggressively built new roads, but highway construction could not solve the problem alone. Mass transit, shifting some trips away from peak travel times, changing the timing of traffic signals, and telecommuting can all help reduce rush-hour traffic, the report said. It's difficult to find the money and the public approval and the environmental clearances necessary to sustain a really big road building program.