Drivers are reporting that even off-peak trips — a 4 p.m. run on the freeway, for example — have become so miserable that some are literally turning around and going home. The obvious question everyone keeps asking: are we turning into LA?

Not yet. But we're flirting with it, and the causes are a perfect storm of bad incentives and worse governance.

Start with transit. San Francisco and the Bay Area have spent billions on public transportation systems that should, in theory, pull cars off the road. Instead, BART and Muni ridership remain below pre-pandemic levels, and fare evasion is rampant. As one SF resident put it bluntly: "None of my wife's coworkers pay when they ride to work. They all make mid six figures. 'I already pay enough taxes.' It's not just the homeless person sleeping on the train."

That's the uncomfortable truth. When even well-paid professionals treat fares as optional, the system bleeds revenue, service degrades, and more people default to driving. It's a vicious cycle. And before someone argues that transit shouldn't need to "make money" — sure, but it does need to function. One local noted that in world-class transit cities like Tokyo and London, "people are visibly paying their fare all the time." Funny how enforcement and accountability tend to correlate with systems that actually work.

Then there's the road experience itself. As one Bay Area commuter observed, it's "actually just all the people on their phones while driving, not paying attention. Oh, and driving slow in the fast lane." Distracted driving turns congestion into gridlock.

Meanwhile, worsening traffic is arguably pushing single-family home prices up as buyers prioritize shorter commutes and proximity to work — a 30% jump in some areas isn't just a housing story, it's a transportation failure story.

The fix isn't mysterious: enforce fares, invest in transit reliability, and stop treating roads like an afterthought. But that requires a city government willing to prioritize results over vibes. We're not holding our breath.