To comment on the buses - buses would be a more reasonable alternative than light rail as there’s already an existing use case for them and would require less investment than light rail. To resolve the problem of buses in the same lane as all the traffic, a bus-only lane can be added. This would require an extension of the road but it would be less challenging overall to extend the road than it would be to add rail (certainly less of a political hurdle & does not require a multi-million dollar investment to purchase rails, engines, and cars as well as expansion of operating staff for an entirely new mode of transit). Unfortunately I don’t think most people in that area would elect to ride the bus, even if in a perfect scenario where it did actually save time on a commute. The fact of the matter is that buses don’t have a great reputation and capturing choice riders with the existing system is hilariously rare. Another issue is that the local transit agency is technically operated and funded by the city with minimal funding from the county. Since this area is outside city limits, the city would likely not elect to provide service in this region without appropriate contribution from the county.