No toilet, and no way to get off, or even really stand up? I know some personal jets lack such facilities, but they're not exactly open to the public. At least on BART you can move away from the crazy...
You're stuck in the "long trip" "it's like a train" framework.
It is neither.
In peak hour it would probably be fine, when everyone is fairly sensible and not drunk. But after hours, I've had quite a few uncomfortable bus rides due to the various anti-social behaviours of fellow passengers. That was with the hand-brake of a driver who obviously isn't getting involved, but can avoid escalating behaviour by stopping the bus or calling authorities.
I have great faith in the technology! I just wish I had as much faith in the people riding inside it :)
Schedule: http://www.mta.info/nyct/bus/schedule/xpress/x001cur.pdf
Also, with a 35-minute trip time, these concerns are well within the realm of "hold it" till the next stop.
Seriously? It's like laying in a not quite horizontal bed for 30 minutes. If you can't plan your bathroom usage 30 minutes ahead of time, then don't use this transportation system (or wear a diaper). I can almost always hold it for 30 minutes after I am really feeling the urge to go. With 12-14 million trips per year, will there be accidents? Certainly. So that capsule gets diverted to be cleaned. Big deal.
> At least on BART you can move away from the crazy
It looks like those spaces are small enough that only 1 person could easily interact with you. If that's a problem, they could probably build in plastic dividers. Or you could just buy two tickets. If you can't tolerate that level of risk, then again, don't ride this thing.
I can assure you that there are plenty of people who are not bothered by these issues.