Richard Hall in The Marin Post:

...The author started writing this article thinking that maybe the Union Pearson Express in Toronto has proven that SMART could achieve ridership enabling it to deliver on its stated goals---relieving traffic congestion and fighting climate change. But Toronto offers a poor comparison from a major airport to a major metropolitan area. 

San Diego's Coaster is a closer comparison, but even this comparison is unfair because the Coaster directly serves downtown San Diego, with 20 times the population of San Rafael.

The author would happily concede his opposition to SMART if it can foreseeably achieve reasonable ridership. But SMART doesn't serve the superior transportation draws of Toronto, Toronto Airport or downtown San Diego. If the Coaster cannot achieve reasonable ridership with much lower fares serving a city over 20 times the size, then there is little hope for SMART...