I think this is largely a San Francisco problem. In most US cities, you have a car (which is probably cheaper than $850/mo? Certainly can be if you want it to be.) In NYC, and a few other American cities, there's a subway system. For example, I take the subway to and from work every day for ~$150/mo or something. It takes about 30 minutes.

It's kind of shocking to me how bad the public transit is in San Francisco when I go there. I think from a consumer perspective, your best bet is to get involved in politics.