Those Highways Don't Carry As Many People As You Think They Do

You see a lot of apples-to-bushels-of-apples comparisons with mass transit and roads. Often the ridership of a single line is compared to the ridership of the entire local road network. You know, "this will only be used by 1% of the population!" kinds of statements. Shiny new highways are seen as benefiting everyone locally, even if daily ridership isn't actually that high.