Sure, if you want to add the "in the US" qualifier that limits the comparison to areas that would have had to create a public transit system in spite of US policies favoring automobiles, then sure it's impressive. But compared to almost any reasonably-large city in Europe or many places in Asia, it's still an embarrassment.

If you want to see transit done right, go to Tokyo. People have sub-hour commutes of over 100 miles there. Everything is comfortable, clean and on-time. If we honestly want to make public transport succeed, we have to stop letting those in charge compare themselves to other failures and, instead, hold them accountable to operating at a level we know is being achieved elsewhere.