The line totally avoided Tenderloin, Hunters Point, Japantown, Chinatown, Richmond District, East Oakland, and the ghetto areas of Richmond and San Pablo. Those areas have the greatest transit dependentship in the Bay Area. Maybe it was down out fear of the New York Subway misperception. To get real crime doesn't really happen in subways. Even when criminals ride the subways, they don't ride it to commit crime on the subways, they ride it so they can get to point B to commmit crime outside of the subway.
Rail transit helps all walk of life to get around and aviod traffic.
They surely avoided the transit dependent neighborhoods. I have one question to ask. Bart is not the answer to serve that side of town. Look how long it took to get it extended into Millbrae and the airport. As much as this town hates muni, that is the answer you are looking for.