For the majority of your points, I'll say "I disagree." Not all mass transit is loathed, if it's done comfortably and successfully. I hear Japan's subway mass transit is pretty fucking nifty, for example. If mass transit is adopted as a major solution, customer demand for positive experiences will probably be enough for people to figure out how to do things well. I think price point will also be a sticking point as well.

I further my argument with my response to goobster here . . .

To which I'll also add that in answer to part of the reason buses are so expensive for cities to purchase as well as your complaint about airlines and economy class, that's a drawback of captive markets. Once again, if there's more competition, there will be better options for the consumers.

All of that fucking said, today on my drive home, I realized there's a good chance we might all end up right because who's to say that the automated transportation market won't be tiered just like the transportation market today is tiered. Bougie trust fund kiddies will have their private cars while the ditch digging plebians will have to learn to make do with mass transit.