He's right but there's a point where I can't entirely agree. The one about not looking up schedules. It varies a lot and sometimes it's worth checking the time table for planing purposes. It's correct that people shouldn't really have to worry or check a time table before taking public transit, but because the world isn't perfect, it really helps to know how to do that anyway. Because it's not just the US that is stuck with this type of "oh public transit is impossible here", and other countries also have those issues. He recommends travelling but if you do that, you'll also sometimes encounter even worse than in the US.

Before going to some Caribbean islands I like to at least research if it's possible to get around there without a car, using public transit. Sometimes every comment I see on the place says that it's impossible, that I'll need to rent a car or use taxis, but it turns out to be entirely false. And sometimes it really is impossible unless you're feeling really adventurous.

I went to Saint-Martin/Sint Maarten and checked the bus routes online, but there were none. This tiny island does have buses, but apparently locals are used to take them and know where they go and when they pass. There's no published schedules. So as a tourist, you're highly encouraged to rent a car or use taxis. And it was true. I saw bus stops and bus "terminals", but no information posted anywhere. I ended up using a taxi most of the time. I also wanted to cycle parts of the island but just getting to a shop that rented bikes was complicated and I gave up.

However I also went to Guadeloupe and also looked up the routes and schedules before going. Most comments I saw online told me I would need a car, that public transit was unreliable, that it would be absolutely impossible to use it. My host strongly insisted that there was "no public transit to the hotels". Yet, there was. The only thing unclear before going was how to pay and the exact location of the stops. But I knew there was public transit, and I used it. It was like being back in the early 2000s where I live in Canada, with online PDFs of the schedules and the routes, but it was fine, aside from the obviously underfunded system. I gleefully cycled on the wonderful island of Marie-Galante and got there with public transit despite being told multiple times that it would be impossible.

So it's a useful skill to have. I live in a city with decent public transit. I don't check the schedules for the metro because they come every few minutes. I also don't check the schedules for a few frequent bus routes that I know. But, it becomes useful and/or necessary if I'm not familiar with the area or the system. Trip planning shouldn't be dismissed on the count of a bad system. Sometimes you want to know where the bus/tram/train is going, and when it will reach its destination.