Tokyo is of comparable size to LA and they don't have these issues. LA used to have the largest streetcar network in the country but they stripped most of it out circa WWII. See also NYC, London, etc.
Even if most people would take the tube, that still leaves millions who need to drive into LA for work. Since everyone has a backyard and the population density in the suburbs doesn't come anywhere close to Tokyo's, it's neither economical nor practical to build public transportation options out there.
> Tokyo is of comparable size to LA and they don't have these issues. LA used to have the largest streetcar network in the country but they stripped most of it out circa WWII. See also NYC, London, etc.
Used to, but those days are gone and it's now 100x harder to reverse that decision. Los Angeles is currently spending the most money out of all the cities in the US on its metro system in preparation for the 2028 Olympics, and even that is still scratching the surface.