A typical day on the Los Angeles subway

So OP doesn’t know the reason for the fight anymore than the man narrating. “Probably” doesn’t mean anything.

Holy shit, I wasn't expecting that!

We all know who was at fault.

The mother.

R1 its in the comments

People literally smoke crack in the subway cars. I'm a massive pussy/coward, and even I had to say to an intimidating looking guy "come on man. Don't don't that in here."

It wasn't always like this. But since the pandemic all bets are off.

Since when does LA have a subway?

^^^can someone please update Barbra? Maybe she can donate a new line.

r6 LA has an extensive Metro system, but only a small portion is a "subway" (i.e., underground.) Most of it is above-ground light rail.

I've seen some things on the LA subway.

I was on the blue line last year when a man opposite me stood up, leaned over, and spit on the two empty seats in front of him. It made me extra cautious about where I sat down.

95% of the time, the car I was in had a homeless, mentally ill individual.

People are openly smoking meth now in the subway.

R6 Since 1993.

Since mostly poor people ride the subway in LA is it so hard to make it safer for them. LA government is a disaster.

A bunch of new stations are opening this year: Metro Transit Center for LAX (will eventually connect to the LAX PeopleMover), Wilshire/La Brea, Wilshire/Fairfax, Wilshire/La Cienega, Glendora, San Dimas, La Verne, Pomona.

Did he call the baby the n word?

R9, if I'm taking a quick ride on a NYC subway or bus, I don't sit down. If I do sit, I change my pants and shirt the second I get home for the reasons you mentioned. There are too many filthy people sitting and laying on the seats that are probably never washed.

All that's missing is a black guy blasting shitty rap music on a speaker.

and a corpse being raped R16

Genuine question from an Australian: is using public transport in LA looked down upon? I know NYers are raised riding the subway, and it's part of their everyday life, but it seems as though using public transport in LA is considered as slumming it. Am I incorrect?

For what it's worth, I'm in a rural area so the public transport options are shit. I use our trains and trams whenever I visit Melbourne though and enjoy not having to drive my ute through traffic or try to find parking.

So many wusses on here.

[quote]it seems as though using public transport in LA is considered as slumming it.

r18 yes, very much so, although I did know a professor from USC who commuted to and from Pasadena on the blue line, and an art historian who used public transit to adjunct at different universities.

R18 Generally, yes, but there are exceptions, especially if you’re going to downtown LA, where the transit infrastructure is surprisingly solid. I also think the LAX People Mover could be a game changer once that opens. In the very near future, dropping someone off at any C or K line station could get them into their terminal faster than driving.

Most of the rest system is tightly connected to bus schedules so that mostly working class folks can make bus to train connections more easily.

Also, the new Bunker Hill station in DTLA is gorgeous. And it connects you right to the museum district next to the Broad and Disney Concert Hall. The station is so deep it can only be accessed by elevators to go down over three stories - no escalators. Beautiful.

There's something about subways in an area of the country known for having many earthquakes that scares me

Subways are one of the safest places to be in an earthquake.

Note from the wiki page on the 1989 Loma Prieta quake in SF:

The BART rail system, which hauled commuters between the East Bay and San Francisco via the Transbay Tube, was virtually undamaged and only closed for post-earthquake inspection.

In Montreal a drunk homeless guy was begging for Metro fare so I gave it to him, in those days a little cardboard ticket from a booklet. He enteted the same car as I did, at the other end. In those days one couldn't move from car to car.

As soon as the doors closed and the train started moving, he pulled out his dick and pissed all over everyone. It gushed like a hose and he was laughing his ass off. People were screaming and crying, rushing to the other end of the car. One woman's face was soaked.

Then he got off at the next station.

Metro has decided to create their own police force. They just appointed the chief (a retired SFPD chief) this week. Up until now, it's been policed by the County Sheriffs or the city cops in LA and Long Beach.

I don't get this video. There's a bloody man sitting on the ground, and some police. There is a narration that says nothing but "this is what happens when you put your hands on a little kid" repeatedly. The comments add no context or explanation.

Wusses...

I thought LA didn’t even have a subway system.

Now I understand more accurately: they do, but everybody understands that you DO NOT want to use it.

I use it all the time, r29. I look like a walking target and I'm just fine.

r25 I'm going straight to hell for laughing my ass off at your story.

LA is the quintessential car city. Service and domestic workers tend to be the biggest users of public transport, but everyone else drives everywhere. Rideshares have gotten big, but most people want a car.

I haven't had many issues on the Expo line to Santa Monica but the Blue Line from Long Beach is no joke. I haven't taken the red line from DTLA in Hollywood in probably 10 years, but it was fine when I did it, things were different then. I don't even go to DTLA anymore. I think the "above ground" rule is a good one.

R31, it took me about 10 minutes for me to see the humour, I was nearly crushed in the melee, but I laughed the rest of the way home. Others laughed with me. The lady with the soaked face and smeared makeup gave us the evil eye as she sobbed. Poor thing.

It was only about a week before Christmas and some passengers were stuck in place with heavy shopping bags.

I didn't dare let on that I had given him the ticket.

I used to commute from the the Valley to DTLA everyday in the 2000s and you had a mix of guys in suits, nurses in scrubs, students, blue collar workers, homeless people and crazies. The homeless would sleep on the trains, stretched out across the seats or with their belongings occupying the seat next to them, and stinking up the place. If you left them alone, no problem, but every once in awhile some unsuspecting person would sit next to them, triggering their rage and causing them to scream or cuss them out or throw punches. Other times, religious nutcases would hop on and as soon as the doors close, they'd sermonize in Spanish, non-stop, forcing us to listen to their ramblings. And there were times, hood rats would come onboard and start rapping and dancing up and down the aisle as if we were in need of entertainment.

The LA County Sheriffs were in charge of patrolling the Metro at the time, but they were hardly ever around.

r35 the NY subway has all the same types. There have been several times over the years where a homeless person got on and they stank so bad they cleared out the car. The BO/shit stench was enough to make you physically ill.

[Quote] Subways are one of the safest places to be in an earthquake.

it may be the only time it's safe

There do seem to be quite a few homeless people making their homes on the LA subway.

So, I guess that means they're not homeless anymore.

Yep, R36. Whenever you see an empty train car especially during rush hour in NYC don’t get on, , it’s either a smelly. Homeless person or the ac is broken. It’s fun watching people get on thinking they’ll have a seat and the. Moving to a different car. There was a barefoot homeless guy on the train last week in the morning and I realized one foot was just a misshapen mass.

That “Seinfeld” episode where Jerry rides the train with a naked Ernie Sabella and all the other passengers are crowded down at the end of the car was hilarious.

R29 Ehh. I use it once a month or so. Used to use it a couple days a week for work.

Are there issues? Sure. But it’s not that different than what I see in any other major city. I have never once felt “unsafe” on LA metro.

LA, like NYC, is just disgusting. Completely unlivable and totally depressing. That being said, much of the US is heading in the same direction.

You need tons of money to live comfortably in LA or NYC. Otherwise it's depressing and soul-draining.

R40 I disagree. Ever take the red line from Beverly/Vermont to North Hollywood on a Sunday evening? I don't feel so much unsafe as I so disgusted.

R43 I never said I don’t feel disgusted at times. Disgusted is different from unsafe.

Also, since you obviously were leaving Slammers on your Sunday evening, some could say there are different definitions of disgusting :-).

That said, the walk from Slammers to the Beverly/Vermont station does indeed take you through some of the roughest blocks of LA outside Skid Row.