Yeah, comparing poor young chinese workers who can barely afford a bus ticket to the average US citizen makes a whole lot of sense. That last paragraph really did not fit with the rest of the article.
Besides, Europe provides plenty of examples of pretty healthy railway systems.
Not only that, but his comparison of bus tickets to high-speed rail tickets is absurd. In the UK it can cost me anything from £20-70 return London to Edinburgh by bus for example. By regular-speed train without a railcard, it's gonna be about £120, so at least twice as expensive. And you can guarantee if we ever get around to high-speed, it wont be as 'cheap' as £120.
$5.40 => $9 is a pretty good deal then I'd say for bus to high-speed rail. OF COURSE it's gonna be more expensive, and I'm amazed that the price differential isn't even higher.
Besides, Europe provides plenty of examples of pretty healthy railway systems.