Regarding your first point, it's to a degree, subjective. But I would classify Bay Area transit to be pretty bad. Have not been to DC, but I live in NYC, where Newyorkers are often fanatically proud of the subway system. But I think the NYC subways are disgusting and horrible compared to say, Seoul, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Taipei, Singapore, etc. which while still imperfect, are the shining examples of what good, proper, public transit systems should be like. Various European cities also have far better subways.
Then again, many Newyorkers think the subways in those cities are horrible and unusable just because they don't operate between ~1-5AM.
Then again, many Newyorkers think the subways in those cities are horrible and unusable just because they don't operate between ~1-5AM.