Here in San Diego I've heard that the Coaster (commuter train linking North County w/ San Diego) is a loss leader; something like $30/rider is subsidized. System has been in place for years. Mass transit polls for always score big, like 70% approval here in S.D., but then ask how many will actually use it and the number drops to 5% or less. Commuter trains are a waste of time here in SoCal. We need more commuter lanes with privilages for hybrid cars, or lanes dedicated to M.T. buses serving major bottlenecks like the I-5 and I-15. Buses are cheap (compared to dedicated rail) and can use existing roadways to access a far larger segment of the community. Bus stops within a mile or less of home. With the limited P2P access of a train there is no value if I still have to wrangle a ride to the office that's 3-4+ miles away from the train station.
For a year I leveraged the 50min. Coaster between Carlsbad (home) and Old Town (work). It was very cool indeed. I could work on the train thus turning my commute into billable hours.
Then our offices moved to the Mission Valley area which is 7 miles away from the Old Town station. With little options available to me (and admittedly not willing to add another hour+ each day in transit using the trolley and buses) I was forced to start driving again.