A lot of me wonders if the root is less a lack of specifically transit, and more of the broader oft-discussed problem of decaying ability to efficiently build public infrastructure/motivate capital improvements.

Novelty hill rd in the NE was supposed to be 4 lanes, even through the switchback, but because of bad contractor (likely back-scratching internally) and a lack of contractual protections, 4 lanes were paid for but 2 were obtained. If we can't even do simple things right (that road typically bottlenecks for ~20-30 miles straight during rush hour, and is single lane, so no bus advantage) and your aformentioned rail link, it's really a moot point, so the focus might need to be on governance than on the transit itself.

(To address your suggestions, I agree that dedicated bus lanes might be helpful, but worry that given the respective usage volumes 1. would it be effective and 2. can you convince everyone else potential further limitation to their lanes is worth it?. Not to say "throw hands up" but it might need to come coupled with a proposal to offer more car bandwidth.

I've always been skeptical of bike lanes on the longer-haul lines outside of city centers, because at least for the area I live in with huge gaps between "stuff", (and with our weather/geography) it's not a feasible form of long-term travel for most people, even for things like picking up groceries. If it can be built without impacting road bandwidth/significantly increasing cost, I obviously see that as a plus, but I'd need to be convinced that the tradeoff actually provided the right outcome.

My focus is typically on rail build-out, improving bus usage, and aforementioned governance/efficiency, as these seem to align incentives pretty well among various groups of transit users.)

Yeah, LA has a lot of commuter express buses from the suburbs that only have 3-4 stops. The problem is you're stuck in the same freeway traffic that everyone else is. Despite this, I know several people taking these buses, which are ~2.5 hour one way trips during rush hour.

That's only a problem because the government doesn't reserve lanes for the busses.

LA also seems to be building a ton of rail. The Expo Line to Santa Monica was completed recently, and they're currently building the Crenshaw Line to LAX, the Purple Line extension into Beverly Hills, and a new set of stations downtown with more in the pipeline.