LA’s metro rail is definitely dirtier than the MBTA, and while you’re right that LA faces more challenges with homeless people, there is still a meaningful presence of homelessness on the MBTA, combined with the fact that it’s a much larger rail network in terms of track and ridership and that it has to operate even during horrible winter conditions, I’d say there is a marked step up from LA metro rail to the MBTA in overall quality.

I’ve lived in both downtown LA and Cambridge, and it’s really difficult to conduct life in LA relying primarily on local rail options. Whereas in metro Boston, it’s much easier to live car-free than to own a car. The subway and commuter rail are just a superior way to get around 99% of the time. I mean, it’s not the same degree of car-obsolescence as New York, but it’s much closer to New York in that regard than it is to the situation in LA.