[mhays]

Your point was obvious...it's about a good bus system, not just the existence of buses.

And you're right. Buses can be done well, or done badly. And that's often the main difference between a bad transit city (even some with lots of shiny rail) and a good one. Good, btw, would typically be a mix of trunk lines and other routes that spider web everywhere else. And lots of HOV or bus lanes, queue jumps, and so on. And covered stops.