I found the BRT line in Guadalajara, Mexico to be pretty great. And Pittsburgh has its issues but it mostly works. (Still too much potential for it to be held up by gridlock, poorly behaving drivers, etc., in my view. You've gotta clear and protect the whole route or it's just a bus.)

To be clear, I would absolutely support a rail project if the conversation were about, say, the state legislature significantly increasing funding for SEPTA and the various ways we might use that new infusion of cash. (I think the width of the boulevard still counsels in favor of something above ground, but there's no reason that can't be rail.) I'm making this argument in the context of (1) SEPTA's meager capital budget, and (2) the existential need to eliminate as many car miles as possible as quickly as possible.