Transport free at the point of use

Andy Wynne makes the case (Public (magazine published by the Guardian ISSN 1747-4329) Dec 2006) that we will make more use of public transport and therefore less of our own cars if transport is free at the point of use. He comments that our cars are perceived to be free at the point of use - purchase, repairs, even fuel are all paid for at a different time from the time we use the car for a journey.
I heartily agree. Lets see leadership coming out of government; services demanded by the people and funded out of taxation are far more efficiently provided than services bought on the open market - provided that the public service providers are held accountable to the people. Compare healthcare in USA to healthcare in UK. Compare rail in France to rail in UK (the opposite comparison).