I think its significant that Taxi2000 is a private initiative. Public works with access to your taxes frequently overlooks the simpler, lower-cost, strangely more elegant solutions. There is no pressure to find or create such alternatives.

One of the biggest boondoggles around where I live (San Jose, California) is the light rail system. Its positive effect on the traffic situation is minimal. Apparently, it costs at least 12 times to move someone on light rail as it does on the freeway. The federal incentives apparently make it easier to make bad decisions like this.