Earlier quoted context omitted.
There was _a_ conspiracy, or at least Wikipedia refers to it as such: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors_streetcar_consp... . That is to say, there's enough there to suggest that this wasn't the free market answering solely to consumer demand.
The article explains why there actually was no conspiracy.[1] [1] No, kids, Who Framed Roger Rabbit? isn't real history
When there's funding for highways but not rails, the results are unsurprising. The benefits of public transit are a positive externality[1][2].
[1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Externality#Positive
[2]Real history is way worse