It sure makes sense, but unlike private newcomers like Uber, those are all unionized shops and unions will fight hard to block any such improvements because the

It sure makes sense, but unlike private newcomers like Uber, those are all unionized shops and unions will fight hard to block any such improvements because they would mean heavy job losses and unions exist to protect jobs. See BART strikes. Most likely they'll achieve pyrrhic victory: muni will be it's usual self for a couple of years, private system will reach cost parity but will offer better service, bus ridership will plummet, eventually it'll become evident that it doesn't make sense to pump more public money into it and it'll either be disbanded or possibly replaced by a contract with private company (because it'll be hard to rebuild muni to be competitive price-wise after giving private companies years of head start).