I was looking for tips in Prima guide and I read this:

Place a few tiles of each zone type around Subway and Rail Stations and Off-Ramps.
This allows Sims exiting these modes of transportation to immediately find the zone
type they seek. SimCity 3000's preference for larger, denser zones may, however, make
some Sims bypass these immediate, small destinations, but most will take the easy
resolution.

I cannot picture that at all. So if anyone has a pix of how this would work, I would appreciate it.
Thanks.

I wouldn't trust a Prima guide on how to cook an egg.

I would trust this old guide, though.

The link you gave is to a good site. it was that site that finally explained how buses work. But I still can't seem to get a good highway system. The Prima Guide does seem to provide some strange info.

Don't know if it helps the game or not. But having areas of mixed industrial and commercial zoning (not dense level), makes the City look better.
I put 8x3 areas along sections of a railroad and they mimic the old industrial yards you see from trains once in a while. So, to me, it is a good addition.