It could get even more people to ride the bus if they extended the idea of dedicated lanes for buses farther into the suburbs and along major corridors (like I-5, but they'd get crucified by all the car drivers if that were to happen).

I absolutely hate my commute because on the very best of days (i.e. minimal traffic, which is almost never), it's 1h20m long (were I to drive on that exact same day and conditions instead, it would be 30 minutes--that's a steep price to pay for me to prefer public transit). 10 years ago it was great--40 minutes max by bus, but commuting from point A to point B almost only ever gets worse over time, never better. I'd love to take the bus all the time if it was much more consistent--but it never will be.