This idea that San Francisco (or California or the whole west coast) shouldn't build transit because it doesn't meet some idealized version of transit in some o

This idea that San Francisco (or California or the whole west coast) shouldn't build transit because it doesn't meet some idealized version of transit in some other hip city is one of the worst takes I've seen. It's naive at best disingenuous at worst. The last time I checked (which was pre-pandemic) Muni carries around 750,000 riders daily – it's waaaay lower now. It's the last resort for privileged, antisocial techie types who've never lived in a city before, but is in fact the primary transit for a whole lot of people (including bicyclists). BART saw closer to 500,000 daily. Honestly I can't remember the last time I thought a station smelled overwhelmingly like urine. Seattle? Waiting in a vomit soaked line to clear immigration at the airport was up at the top of my list of unpleasant travel experiences. New York? Have any of you actually talked to New Yorkers? Or even bothered to look at a NY oriented site like Gothamist? I'm guessing not because otherwise you'd be well aware of the decrepit state of the NY subway (rats, violent crime, constant late night service disruptions, etc). Complaining about the subway is pretty much the city's favorite pastime. God help you if you end up in Penn Station (easily the most aggressively awful public toilets I've ever seen) or Grand Central and have to deal with the various infighting between the transit agencies. Late night service has been a mess for years as they try to prop up the dilapidated infrastructure. And if you want to talk expensive boondoggles there's always the 2nd Ave subway line. Paris? Plenty of junkies and whatnot when I was in Montmartre. RER out by the Eiffel Tower was equally sketchy. Frankfurt? Plenty-o-prostitutes and junkies around Frankfurt Hbf. Busted TVMs at the airport station. Want to check out the Lufthansa Technik museum? Good luck catching a train. Madrid? Easily the worst smelling metro I've ever been on. It's absolutely oppressive during the summer. Hopefully you're able bodied because the Madrid metro stations are pretty dang deep. Berlin? Graffiti covered trains. My most vivid memory in Kreuzberg was watching a zombie stumble out of the station and into the street only to get clobbered by a motorcycle. They ran away when someone offered to call an ambulance. Don't take my word for it (and, yes, Kottbusser Tor is gross). https://berlinspectator.com/2019/10/31/how-safe-and-comfortable-is-berlins-u-bahn-1/ https://berlinspectator.com/2019/10/31/how-safe-and-comforta... https://www.thelocal.de/20191031/more-people-instead-of-cameras-death-of-man-pushed-in-front-of-berlin-train-puts-focus-on-security-stations/ https://www.thelocal.de/20191031/more-people-instead-of-came... Singapore? Do you know why food/drink are banned? Because people are fucking gross. Ask a Singaporean what they think of the efforts to increase the automation on MRT lines. Osaka? Homeless guys living out of cardboard boxes. Public transit is a reflection of the society in which it's located. Unfortunately for all the handwaving, and as it turns out foreign countries are not utopias.