The transit industry has developed two systems: one for “choice” riders and one for “dependent” riders, “that is to say white and Black,” says urban planner Christof Spieler.

Public transit cost federal, state and local taxpayers more than $50 billion in 2016 — nearly $5 in subsidies every time someone boarded a transit vehicle.

The transit industry loses billions every year and is facing declining ridership, but its supporters say that “the outlook for public transit isn’t all that bad.”