There are a few niche venues, but overall yeah I agree with your assessment. One compounding factor is that public transportation in SF has terrible coverage, stops early, and just kind of sucks all around. In Tokyo or Paris, spending the night with a friend who lives a few kilometers away is not a problem. In SF, if you live in the mission and your friend is in the sunset, you’re probably not going to hang out together that often.

There’s Lyft/Uber, but they’re a bit pricey, and you’re just contributing to a slimy system and not doing anything to help public transit.