Just a datum from a former North Bay resident (way before SMART): in the 1980s, a GGT "express" from Santa Rosa to SF (Financial or Civic Center routes), took just over 2 hours in the morning (with a 5 minute walk at the Santa Rosa end and either across the street from the office using Financial or a 15 minute walk using Civic Center), and 2 1/2 to 3 hours (longer on Fridays) in the afternoon. The "express" ran down Santa Rosa Ave (making stops all the way through town, freeway to Petaluma then thru town there, then back on the freeway to SF. Round trip fare back then was about $7, but books of commute tickets provided a small discount.

The "local" that stopped at all the freeway pads in Marin, San Rafael and Novato downtown, Petaluma then Old Redwood Highway and trickle through Rohnert Park then up Santa Rosa Ave, was carded for a bit over 3 hours from downtown SF to Santa Rosa, and usually made it.

Longest runs were a couple of times when there were large wrecks (or the SLA breakout at Marin Civic Center), forcing extended parking on 101 and/or detours via Sonoma. We managed to break 4 hours a couple of times. Oh yes, and GGT buses then (and still?) had no rest rooms.

I had been transferred to SF by my job. Santa Rosa, and Pittsburg/Antioch (with a drive to Concord BART), were the closest places that I could afford to buy something, barely. Just looking at schedules, at the time, a shuttle bus from downtown San Rafael to the (fairly new) ferry at Larkspur, then a ride across the Bay, took about 15 minutes longer than a ride on a commuter bus from downtown San Rafael to the Financial District, with a longer walk in SF because the bus had stops within a few blocks of most offices rather than a walk from the Ferry Building. That was at a time of allegedly less traffic than today ... and only short segments of diamond lane because freeway widening through San Rafael was still only a distant hope.