I'm disappointed. I was hoping that the author would go into the structural issues with transport in the SF Bay Area.
One of the primary issues with the SF Bay Area is that it's 60 miles north-south, and getting across the SF Bay is a major undertaking, both in time and money.
Unlike cities like NYC (large and dense + a mostly functional transit system), and Boston (small and dense + a vaguely functional transit system), travel times are much more non-deterministic in the SF Bay Area, especially if plans require people from multiple locations.
Ergo, the chances of people bailing on plans because some random traffic incident will add 90 minutes to their travel time (and possibly miss most of the event) is much higher in the SF Bay Area.
One of the primary issues with the SF Bay Area is that it's 60 miles north-south, and getting across the SF Bay is a major undertaking, both in time and money.
Unlike cities like NYC (large and dense + a mostly functional transit system), and Boston (small and dense + a vaguely functional transit system), travel times are much more non-deterministic in the SF Bay Area, especially if plans require people from multiple locations.
Ergo, the chances of people bailing on plans because some random traffic incident will add 90 minutes to their travel time (and possibly miss most of the event) is much higher in the SF Bay Area.