About SoCal, no, SoCal is not nearly as dense as Europe in general. And so it's no wonder SoCal's public transit is terrible; of course it is terrible, because it's more sprawling and less dense and so more expensive for fewer riders, and so not worth it. https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Comparative-Average-Population-Density-in-the-Built-up-areas-of-46-Metropolitan-areas_fig1_222575994