The mass transit system is grossly inefficient considering that it does not even come close to delivering a small percentage of people anywhere near to where they want to go.
If the system grew enough so that all the people traveling today were picked up from where they wanted to be picked up and dropped off where they wanted to be dropped off - would it, could it, still be as energy efficient?
This is the first post that asks, "is there a mass transit that could work?" Let me tell you how mass transit (on a local level) works in Indonesia. Of course, the differences between the countries are great, but the idea may have some relevance.
The backbone of the transit system is a van that is owned and operated by private individuals. They have basic safety regulations established by the government and a dispute resolution board which serves as a loose management of the system.
Each van has a basic route which he travels from one neighborhood to the next and then to a common destination points. Being a private system, a driver can vary his route to insure the maximum number of passengers Since many people use the system, a van will pass near your house every 5-10 minutes during busy times, and every 15 minutes during slow times. Once you get familiar with the routes, you can ask the driver to make a small diversion to take you to specific destination.
On busy routes, a young man stands next to the doorway and looks for passengers, takes the money, and assists with packages. The cost of a 15-20 mile trip is about $2.
The secret to success is the flexibility of the route and regularity of the service. In the US, the system could be massively improved with the use of GPS technology and Blackberry-type communication. If you could put out a call for pickup and watch the progress of the van coming toward your house, you could finish a cup of coffee and casually walk to the street. This way you would have only a short walk and short wait for your ride.
Of course, nothing is as convenient as a personal car - so I'm not sure any system could be devised that would get commuters of their car. However, a little innovation could go a long way towards finding a system that works.