Flutterby™! : Public transit as subsidy to the wealthy

So I whined this morning on FaceTwitSpace about having to leapfrog the bus for a few stops until a space opened up on the bike rack, and @brennen replied:

@danlyke this is a thing I've been realizing: actually existing public transit in the US is basically a subsidy to the already wealthy.

and:

@danlyke that is, a benefit to people who don't have to care about the costs and to people who employ low-wage workers.

And I realized that I had yet another perspective to view this by...