1) I've ridden Amtrak as well, and the sole reason it doesn't smell like piss is because there's a conductor who aggressively checks people's tickets and kicks people off who haven't paid.

2) In my experience Boston was _the_ best light rail system in the US I've ridden by far. Only China was better (because it ran at faster travel speeds and had more modern train cars). You should come to the Bay and experience BART for what light rail in other cities is like. I recommend the Civic Center station and any of the Oakland stations for the optimal experience. Bonus points for if you decide to walk for more than 1 block around said stations at night.

I'm curious what line you're riding and at what times of day. I love the MBTA and rode it for years (Red Line and Green B/D) but I've definitely been on rail cars that "smell like piss" or similar.

I thought that was part of the experience. Red Line in chicago I regularly had schitzophrenic people start to breakdown with violent tendencies in front of me, watch people shoot up drugs, smell a mixture of piss and shit and general stench of months long unwashed clothing of the unhoused. Watch the news and even the CTA employees on the red line have been known to shoot customers whom they disagree with in the back [1].

Public rail in many places is a dangerous, dirty, and chaotic experience. A gritty, anarchistic, and truly American experience. Yet, this is why I loved it. I hope it never changes -- a complete departure from the sterile, arrogant, and uninspiring clinical reality of air travel. I'd rather be stabbed on the red-line than watch it descend into a dystopic clinical, authoritarian, dressdown administered by the TSA in the name of safety.

[1] https://chicago.suntimes.com/crime/2022/3/27/22998488/cta-wo...

We've made a point to ride all the lines, but mostly ride Red Line (with a dash of Green), plus the Providence commuter rail line. Our rides tend to be during evenings, so the cars aren't sparkling clean. But, so far, the worst we've experienced are some loose french fries.