If even the Dutch don't take public transit, can anyone expect Americans to?

That's quite strange; on a visit to the Netherlands in January I noticed lots of trams and bikes and not a lot of traffic--of course, it may have been due to where I was staying.

In South Korea, a very densely populated country, many people take the subway or bus, especially those underage who can not drive yet. It is an excellent way to get around the city, especially when there is congested traffic (which is pretty much all the time).

Creating extensive public transportation systems may not be very popular with most citizens, but it is a real pity because not only is public transportation quite convenient but can reduce auto emissions as well.

The problem with fixed rail Mass Transit is that is stuck in the antiquated notion of Central Downtowns and Cities. Development is shifting away from centralized areas of employment and towards a more decentralized approach (sees Virginia, Northern). Whatever the merits of the new ex-burb reality; fixed rail mass transit is not well equipped to meet the needs of the new “cities'

I love driving in my car. I can listen to music as loud as I want. I can control the temperature to my liking I can basically go as fast or slow as I want. Driving is just plain FUN!
I would never give my car up for public transit, even if it was free

The cited article is primarily about road pricing and the fear, like in our own urban areas, of ever-increasing congestion -- so it's no surprise that the pull-quote comes from near the bottom of the story. It's not a story about transit at all -- it's about road pricing.

You may find this report useful; it reinforces your point about high car usage in the Netherlands, but is much more enlightening on other forms of mobility (such as bicycles, which as of the 1998 report date formed about a quarter of trips in Amsterdam -- it looks like the report errs in extrapolating this number to the country at large).

Thanks for the link, Michael. I'm aware the NRC Handelsblad article was mostly about road pricing and congestion; I just didn't find that part of it surprising.

This line from the report Michael links to is particularly interesting: "The share of public transport in the Netherlands is less than in many other countries because of the widespread use of the bicycle." Which still supports my point that people prefer private transit to public, but underscores that it doesn't necessarily have to be a car.