Euros also have well-kept public transportation. We mostly don't.
[WS:] Only in major cities. Otherwise, it is mostly buses. Ditto for the US. There is nothing that would prevent medium-size and smaller US localities from running efficient bus-based (i.e. not requiring major capital investments) transit system. For example, DC suburbs (Montgomery country) do that.
The main reason for crappy transit system in this country is that it often serves as an instrument of apartheid - it keeps the "riff-raff" separate from the "respectable" middle class. Where politics of transit apartheid are not very prominent (e.g. NYC, or DC area) the transit system that we have is just fine.
I do not know about you, but I do not see anything wrong with slapping the fatheads who do not feel comfortable with sitting on a bus with someone who looks different with a $10/gallon surcharge for their driving privilege.
Wojtek