Perhaps a bit of masochism is required to use any form of public transit. Sometimes you just have to see if it can be done. Trains in general are a bit more congenial places to be, regardless of how hard the seats are, than buses, of course.
Then there was the writer who decided to try to get from San Francisco to Los Angeles using only public transit. Documented it in SF Weekly:
In Transit: From S.F. to L.A. via Public Transportation
By Joe Eskenazi
Wednesday, Jun 22 2011
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www.sfweekly.com]
and
San Francisco to Los Angeles on Public Transportation: Maps, Pictures, Insanity
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www.sfweekly.com]