For transportation:

Lots of rural and of course urban US counties subsidize bus transportation. For example, as of a few years ago, it was possible to take county buses all the way around the Olympic Penninsula via several county bus systems, for less than $10. Some of the legs were free. The catch is or was, that many of the legs operated only once per day and it required a minimum of 24 hours to travel about 300 miles.

There are counties in rural michigan where apparently, you can simply phone for a ride at a flat rate of a few dollars, though this is certainly not typical.

Probably the way to discover these bus lines, is to google XX County and Transportation.