I've lived in the outskirts of Tokyo, and they have one of the best mass transit systems anywhere in the world there AND...almost everybody uses it. There's no stigma involved with it and you'll see plenty of salarymen with suits and briefcases on the train.
It's got three things going for it that I've never seen together in the US.
1) It's safe. Japan in general is extremely safe. You won't get mugged or assaulted waiting for a bus after dark there. This goes a very long way in getting people out of their cars, particularly women and children. If you have street thugs or the homeless hanging around at a bus stop or on the bus itself, you are likely going to scare away most of your potential passengers.
2) It's faster than going by car. The trains arrive every 5 minutes or so. You don't even bother with a schedule. Plus, parking and driving around Tokyo is often slow and difficult, (and nerve wracking).
3) It's cheaper than going by car. Gas, parking and cars in general are very expensive in Japan.
Where I live, (Tacoma), public transit has none of these three attributes. Even in Japan, once you get out of the city and into the countryside you notice that cars become the primary means of transportation.
Last edited by John Hood; 09-07-14 at 11:46 AM.