Hi Newfie et al
Whilst I agree that a mass transit system is a wonderful aim, I think you need to start smaller
if the USA and CAN had a joined up transport plan, so, for example, if there is a Rail Link between two cities then the cost of flying should be taxed to be prohibitive, and use this to pay for the rail for passengers (same for buses)
Local buses could be free (they are in our area)
Freight .. well here is a study I found from the USA
showing that trucks cause 9600 times more damage to roads, than cars, so if we are talking cost of infrastructure, lets tax them appropriately to get a level playing field ... or just build a set of RoRo train lines and ban trucks on the section of road that these serve, this would force trunk freight on the rails and only local freight would be left, each city would have a Port our local city already has one built out and waiting for the inevitable. ....