Last time I rode BART in 2013, the stations were creepy quiet and the cars were dilapidated. Fruitvale notwithstanding, it seemed like a place where people get stabbed. Has it improved? Or is still a typical American public transport Catch-22: not enough passengers to justify investment and not enough service to justify ridership.
Ouch. That's the problem. America is still too in love with Los Angeles-style layouts: expensive and unhealthy single-occupant ICE cars and urban sprawl with gridlock and long commutes between city cores and residential cul-de-sacs far away.
The aim should either be vastly more remote work, residing closer to work, or closer to mass transit between work. The first way is simpler, cheaper, and does away with about half of a transportation needs.
