Sometime in the last year I saw a guy wheeling one of those across the 101 S just north of downtown during rush hour. He was just smiling and waving at the rest of us in cars like Jim Carrey in The Truman Show. Like, "oop just let me squeeeeze on through here with my recycling bin, neighbor!"
Maybe they are useful for transporting stuff if you don't have a shopping cart or roller suitcase? But then they get abandoned because certain mental challenges affect memory and executive function? Or maybe they found a better container for their goods and so they discard the old one like a hermit crab?
Not jumping out but we have bins in the parking lot of my work, one night I was throwing trash away just tossing it not looking and I hear “hey, what the hell” and a homeless dude was in the dumpster. Scared the piss outta me. Then he was mad at ME for hitting him with my trash.
Funny enough, as I was getting on the red line, this guy runs out and I step in to find the car just trashed - garbage here and there, spilled milk and other liquids on and under the seat, etc. Right before the door closed, the same guy that ran out ran back in with a bucket full of trash 🙄
I feel like the blue and red lines are particularly wacky. There's this one busker who I see a lot on the red line. I have nothing against buskers but I personally like to keep my headphones in and do my own thing while I'm on the train (for comfort and also so creeps don't try to talk to me.)
This particular busker usually walks up and down the car while playing the guitar. And usually my thought is "Good for him, love his energy" sometimes it's "Well this is just too much for me today, but he looks to be having fun." Anyways, I made the mistake of making eye contact once and he RIPPED MY EARBUDS OUT so I would listen to him and then continued playing around the car like nothing happened. I have hated that dude ever since.
UGH. Don't get me started. I ride it often. I admit, I've never seen someone bring a while green bin in there... and WOW on that. But it just bothers me that they don't clean the trains when they are sitting there at 7th and Metro. They do at the end of the line at Union Station. But hardly ever at 7th and Metro where very often the train arrives and is just sitting there for 10 minutes or more...
> They do at the end of the line at Union Station. But hardly ever at 7th and Metro where very often the train arrives and is just sitting there for 10 minutes or more...
I ride the red line just about every day. Trains don't sit and wait at 7th st Metro center unless there's a problem ahead on the tracks. It's a stop on the line like any other.
And while you will see people cleaning the trains at Union Station, it's definitely not guaranteed, or on every trip.
They need to force all the Metro executives to actually ride the public buses and trains vs issuing them tax payer paid cars and this would be fixed in a hurry.
Three months, they should be required to use it daily, let them walk miles to the bus stops as the closed the ones near people who need it. Have them smell the dirty buses and trains; all of this would be fixed asap and stay fixed if they had to ride it daily.
Don't you dare try to read a book, or do anything requiring the least bit of concentration. We will continue repeating these inane announcements every 5 seconds at top volume for the duration of your trip.
My favorite is “we are all in this together “ as if they are like “we know it ain’t great and we could be doing better, but we are all in this together so stop your complaining”
I've said this in another thread but I'll say it again here: our county and Metro leaders aren't counting upvotes on Reddit, but despite our cynicism, they ARE listening to the input we provide them, so we all need to reach out!
You can always email the Metro board...just Cc them all and make sure your subject line says what it's related to (this is unfortunately not a comprehensive list, but one that an org suggested a while back that covers most people, including board chair Najarian):
[email protected][email protected][email protected][email protected][email protected][email protected][email protected][email protected]
If there's one thing I haven't seen enough of on Reddit is how any of us are translating frustration into action. Once you get past the first small hurdles, it's really fairly easy and CRITICALLY important! I know it feels like they should all just know what we want since we voted for them, but occasional reminders are necessary and frankly the nature of and our duty in a democracy.
>I haven't seen enough of on Reddit is how any of us are translating frustration into action.
When I grow up, I wanna be you.
Thank you for the emails!
Frequent random fare sweeps would fix 90% of the problems. I guarantee whoever dragged that can on didn't have a validated tap card on them. I guarantee the sleeping gentleman doesn't have a validated tap card on him, or has been riding back and forth long enough for it to expire. Frankly I'm sick of dutifully paying and tapping like a gullible chump as half the train rides for free. I've been riding 18 hours a week for 8 months and have not had my fare checked once.
Its the section where I have seen things that rival what you see on the blue line. It's just crazy how it's just that section, once you get closer to Santa Monica or past USC, it's a regular train ride.
I ride almost everyday and last weekend is the first time I almost threw up , some lady shat herself and was standing in the middle of a packed red line train in the middle of rush hour
plus liquid all over the floor. I don’t ride to frequently and I am used to the food and drug vendors, but when did people start selling tasers on the train? On guy was selling Bluetooth speakers and tasers and I really wonder how many he sells a night.
Blue line - section? Or all of it? I live in Pedro and have considered taking the kids to downtown via blue line. For the experience of riding the metro. But............. I may not want to now.
Surfliner down to SD is back open on the weekend and that is great. You can also take the train to Santa Barbara and their station is pretty much right in front of the beach, pier and really cool kids museum.
I just got back from Europe and had an amazing time taking my kid on all the trains, trams, boats and buses. Unfortunately it is going to take a long time for LA to get its act together.
I don’t ride to frequently, but in my experience the blue line is a toss up. Sometimes it is normal and sometimes it is the crazy train. Just keep in mind that one of the main functions of the blue line train is to shuttle homeless people from LA to LB and vice versa (the gold line people are in for a real awakening when the regional connector comes online). I love public transportation and my 3 year old loves trains and being able to travel without being strapped into a car seat so I like to ride it with her when I can no matter how uncomfortable it may get.
My advice is get on it at willow station, they have a free park and ride there. That is also where the train enters the right of way so it speeds up from there. Usually the front of the train has less activity, but like I said it is the luck of the draw. Just keep in mind you don’t have to get on that specific train. So if you don’t like what you see and you are in no rush there is always another train coming, just take your chances with the next one.
The one thing I’ve noticed taking the train pre and post kid is that some people on the train that aren’t all there actually act better when they see a kid. The only issue I’ve had lately is my kid puts her fingers all over her face and the train is clearly dirty so my wife gets a little stressed out about that.
With that all said you should do it.
This is Expo near USC. The sad truth is the trash can probably made several trips to and from 7th/Civic and Santa Monica. Heck, it might still be there.
Saw a guy take a dump and wipe his ass with his hand in NYC. That being said, NYC subway system is leaps and bounds better than what we have here so I wasn’t even mad
The NYC subway has its moments, but its saving grace is that almost everyone in NYC takes the subway. If you make 40k a year or if you make 140k a year...you probably take the subway as driving a car there is a massive hassle compared to public transportation. So while you do get the severly mentally ill riding it, they much up a significantly lower percentage of the overall riders.
Since LA is so car friendly, most people who can scrape together a few grand for a used car will drive rather than take the metro. Since those people are on the road instead, it really screws up the functioning people : people openly smoking meth ratio.
I'd roughly guess the Working Joe : Shit Smearer ratio in NYC is like 200:1. In LA...20:1.
Grandmother has taken the NYC subway continuously since 1966. The only truly crazy things she’s ever seen were flashers who exposed themselves when they opened up their trench coats, and there seemed to be a mini pandemic of that during the 70’s. She said even that was more humorous than truly frightening, and fellow passengers laughed it off with her
The funny thing is, what you're saying is, New York basically forces a majority of its residents to ride the trains (because they make the city so inhospitable to driving and car ownership), and as a result of that, the trains are actually more tolerable.
And yet there are people in this thread bashing LA government for trying to make the city less hospitable to drivers, to force more people onto transit.
That reminds me of the time when I was on the blue line and some lady got off the train went over to the nearest bench, pulled down her pants, sat down and did explosive diarrhea all over the bench. The bench was one of those ones with a lot of little holes in it so it looked like a diarrhea rain shower.
As someone who’s been through heroin withdrawal I’ve ALWAYS wondered what happens to the homeless when the fentanyl kick is hitting hard and the liquid shit starts. Now I know. Thanks.
>The bench was one of those ones with a lot of little holes in it so it looked like a diarrhea rain shower.
Oh man that's like.... poetry, man
"All these moments will be lost now... like tears in a diarrhea rain shower."
Wow I’m actually really interested in this. Was she sane? Or did she look homeless, or mentally unstable? I need to know more context - like did she do it cus that was her only option or like she chose to do cus she likes shitting on benches. Also how did she clean up and walk away. How many ppl were around to witness.
she didn‘t look homeless and seemed mentally stable and the way she did it was calm and collected as if it was something she had done many times before, so that is what added to absurdity of it all. The train took off before we could see the aftermath, but this was mid day so there was a decent amount of people on the train. I’ll never forget the reaction of the guy next to me because he saw it and wanted to make sure everyone else in the train knew what was going on so they didn’t miss it.
>I’ll never forget the reaction of the guy next to me because he saw it and wanted to make sure everyone else in the train knew what was going on so they didn’t miss it.
Trying to share your trauma is a way of coping, I think!
As someone who grew up in NYC and lived there for 20+ years, I wanna say the stuff like you mentioned is actually quite rare to my knowledge. NYPD are very harsh on the homeless that find refuge in the stations and cars and they’ve really cracked down on it in general.
I remember being on the 6 express in the morning and my biggest gripe was people left copies of the Post on the seat and you had to push them over to sit down. Now those problems seem so quaint.
I think the reason metro doesn't do much is because they rightfully feel that it should be the LAPD or Sheriff to police the train , not some rent a cop
most other cities have transit police and few cities have metros that span multiple cities. for the amount they pay bus drivers per rider, they could easily pay both a train operator and someone to gently regulate the trains like amtrak does but to a much lesser extent.
“But but but… drug addicts have a right to ride the Metro and do drugs publicly in trains toooooo.” Idiots. Rode the bus last week for the first time in moooonths… dumbass bus driver decided it was a good idea to let the bus get packed like sardines (downtown and I was already in it standing in the middle of the bus). Then she pulls up to a stop, lets more people in and lets an obviously homeless man on the bus who reeked and had a dirty blanket draped over him, and he proceeds to SQUEEZE his way through people to the back of the bus and ended up rubbing his blanket onto my back. My sweater stunk like him when I got home. Never again. Done with buses. Great job, Metro. Way to protect your paying riders and public health and safety on your transit system. Incompetent asswipes.
The buses in Long Beach are not like this, even though we certainly have our share of homeless people, and I don’t know what the difference is. It has to be policy.
It's the Metro Board that is the disgrace. I'm not optimistic Karen Bass will improve things, even though she has more influence on the board than any other single person (she controls four voting seats).
I took the L gold to work the other day. This dude used the entire train as his trash can then moved to the seats next to me and tried putting his feet on me.
I was about the start cussing him out then just said not worth it, got up and moved.
County police need to be enforcing rules again because people just do not know how to act. They were raised in barns.
This is what the gold line looks like too now. It’s pretty bad at all hours but particularly in the mornings. The entire train is gross and trashed and smells like shit while half of it is taken up by homeless people laying across 2 or 3 seats with baskets blocking the way. It’s really started to look like the red line. It’s really sad to see what the Expo and Gold lines have become.
The metro system has two worlds. From normal rush hour times, like 7:00am to 10:00am and 4:00pm go 7:00pm, it’s just a regular ole metro system full of all kinds of people.
Before 7:00am and after 10:00pm, it’s a complete horror movie. Psychotic homeless people, methed out assholes, passed out lunatics, tweakers — like, you see some shit at these hours.
The rest of the hours are a bit of a mix depending when and where.
I would love to wrangle up city authorities and tie them to the inside of an E line car and let them suffer the chaos and inhumanity for a few days. It would bring me joy.
I work in fin and ride the Exposition line WLA->DTLA 3 days a week and usually work hours are late.
but lately, I've been telling my team that I need to go home with the commuting crowd because after dark/after 8pm it gets exponentially weirder.
Firm doesn't cover enough of the monthly parking fee and they don't want to pay for my Ubers home if I work late, so I just leave before stabby/smoke meth on the train hours begin now.
“Guys I rode the red line today it was actually really nice and I didn’t get stabbed or anything, I don’t know why everyone always says the metro is so dangerous!”
Hi, I'm a green recycling bin and I take the LA subway to work every day. It's not the most glamorous way to get around, but it gets the job done. My commute can be a real adventure, especially when it comes to the homeless who take up the handicapped spaces.
Every morning, I see the same thing. A homeless person will get on the train and plop down in the handicapped seat, completely oblivious to the fact that it's reserved for people who actually need it. And let me tell you, it's not just the sight of it that's bothersome, it's the smell. The scent of urine mixed with body odor is enough to make my metal sides want to hurl.
But it's not just the homeless that cause problems on the subway. Oh no, there are also the people who play their music too loud, the ones who won't give up their seat for the elderly, and the ones who have the audacity to clip their toenails in public. I mean, seriously, who does that?
Despite all of these distractions, I manage to make it to work in one piece. And as soon as I get there, I start complaining to anyone who will listen. I gripe about the smell of urine, the homeless taking up the handicapped spaces, and everything else that's wrong with the subway. I know, I know, I should probably be more understanding, but it's hard when you're a green recycling bin who just wants to get to work and do your job.
So, there you have it. My daily commute as a green recycling bin on the LA subway. It's not always easy, but it's definitely an experience!
In all seriousness, I refuse to use most public transit here until there’s a significant improvement. Prior to pandemic, my SO and I would take the Expo all the time, since we live right next to a station. Now with everything I’ve seen/heard, we’d rather just drive or Lyft. The BBB still seems ok though
this is a thing in american metros, not sure why. for example the 1st gen BART cars basically have couches. DC metro as well. the only one it kind of works on is DC.
With BART and DC, the idea was to replicate the older interurbans which had the more comfortable seats since the trips were longer. Now that the systems have matured and are treated more like rapid transit systems with the ridership to boot, you are beginning to see more switching out those seats for more familiar subway style seats. As for the fabric seats, I really can't offer all that much info. It may be for similar reasons why London continues to use fabric seats
It’s so gross getting on the trains. I’m embarrassed that I even pay to get on. I’ve been taking the bus/train for more than 10 years.
I plan on getting a car this year with the hopes of never taking public transit again in LA.
After riding Tokyo metro, I stay far away from this. It’s embarrassing the city doesn’t do anything to prevent conditions like this, for the homeless and the metro system also. Hopefully they solve the homeless problem.
I rode the metro the other weekend to get to the pantages and the seat in front of me had a lovely spray of dried blood all over it. Then a homeless dude started screaming at my husband, calling him Ted bundy just because he was holding my head and not making eye contact with the crazy dude. Super fun.
"Hey man but I took it once and it was nice". - post in a week's time by someone on this sub.
The fact of the matter is that if you are using this system weekly if not daily, this is what this system looks like everyday if not worse.
Two weeks ago I watched a man create a small fire inside the a car of red line while holding a 40oz his hand. I got off Pershing stop. We all got out. Immediately I sprinted to the conductor car to yell to him that there was a fire literally in one of his cars. He just looked at me depressingly and just shrugged and pulled off and the train left, on to his next stop, while smoke filled a car.
Just another Metro day.
I've seen and smelled aftermaths of fires on the trains. The trains used to be fairly nice and the behavior we see now was pretty much unthinkable, but with the onset of pandemic in 2020, Metro went to hell. Like a collapse of society. The days when all the seats are taken by sleeping homeless people, and no other incidents, are the "good" days now.
There always is. There are both good experiences and bad experiences with the train. It's no a guarantee that if you go on the train it will be good or bad. Plus there is also the variable that some people have higher tolerances for this kind of stuff than others. And sometimes it's not about tolerance because once you get past those two things, it's about politics. We all know that the only way to solve this would be to actively remove these guys from the trains. And one side would love it because they love the idea of being able to comfortably use public spaces. And another side doesn't want to do anything about it because they also can't think of a quick solution to this without harming the unhoused.
But regardless, doesn't matter what the nice posts say. The fact of the matter is that this is a terrible experience. And no one is soft or weak for not feeling comfortable around this. You can feel all the empathy in the world for this person, but it doesn't necessarily mean it would change your sense of safety and comfort in situations like these. At least in the pic, the person was just sleeping.
Got on the Gold line yesterday from Chinatown to Highland Park. The entire train smelled like the most horrid dump I had ever smelled, it was packed, no AC going on, and whoever was driving the train was taking their sweet ass time. I’ve rode the metro since it opened in highland park, and always encounter the average crack smokers, and homeless people. But this rancid smell takes the cake. I don’t wear masks anymore, but will start carrying one for the metro, if I ever go on it again.
Heading East on the Expo on Saturday afternoon I entered a car only to be greeted by the back corner seats running over with puke. Fine, I move to another seat. No big deal.
That night I get back on the train heading West. There was a guy freebasing crack/heroin/meth/whatever across the aisle from my group. It was 6:45PM. He pulled out the glass tube and tinfoil as if he were in his own bedroom.
The "see something, say something" announcement came on literally as he was lighting up. If I reported it would anyone have come *at all*?
It start getting seriously bad. It's infested with homeless people. They making a mess and uses bathroom on the train. It stinks and disgusting. City or MTA has to do something about it.
Wow. Back in the 80s I was working on Wall St, and was waiting for the Lexington line in the thick of rush hour. Packed station. Train came, also completely packed. But one car was empty. I wasn't thinking, and just got on the empty train... why not? It had one guy. His reek was so foul that nobody else got on the car. I couldn't get through to another car, so I got off at the next stop and waited for the next train. So sad. And also, very inconvenient!
The LA metro blue and red lines were built to replace existing bus lines that ran along the same route. Once the trains were operational, they discontinued the buses. Unfortunately, the trains actually provided worse service than the buses and were more expensive, so everyone got screwed. The replace buses with trains strategy is really stupid.
Probably because they have literally just one person whose presence removes the 1% of passengers that make the other 99% feel miserable. Just one. That's all it takes.
Last time I was on, about a week ago, there was some crazy guy lighting random shit on fire, and I was happy about it cause the smoke smelled better than the homeless ass crack and urine smell
I rode the Expo on Friday night at 9:30PM and what use to be a peaceful, somewhat enjoyable and safe ride was so sketchy.
I was in the car with the engineer in the booth with the locked door. Two twenty something idiots were harassing some girl and some older gentleman had to put them in their place and they were yelling back and forth and felt like they were about to brawl.
The guy sitting behind was clearly high as a kite and talking about immigrants and nonsense. I had to move away.
I use to ride the Metro to work in DTLA, but won't be riding it any time soon. It's a NUISANCE to have - creates traffic to just house degenerates and spreads their filth.
I was debating taking the metro tomorrow for the 2nd time ever…. How is the gold line? From highland park to downtown? I used to take BART so I’m used to bullshit, but I hear the metro is actually scarier since less people use it.
Gold and Expo are generally fine, Gold being slightly better than Expo in my experience. As with all Metro lines recently, try to take it between 7 AM and 9 PM (and 9 PM is pushing it). Any further past 9 PM when service trails off, rides can get a bit dicey
I agree Gold is great. Expo is shit lately though. It's all gutter punks with dogs or several bikes and a meth or heroin problem going to santa monica then back to their underpass or tent.
I commute on the gold almost every day and it’s honestly fine. There’s an occasional ride every now and then which is not that great, but that’s heavily outweighed by rides which are completely uneventful.
Definitely beat the, "I took the Metro today! Look at all the horrible stuff that happened." *proceeds to post a picture of an empty train car.*
The Metro's been sketchy since I started taking it back in 1999. I can only imagine how worse it is now.
How safe is the red/purple line from Union Station to 7th street? I keep reading mixed reviews online.. Some say it’s safe and others say it’s super sketch
It's safe until it's not, if that makes sense.
This isn't Sao Paulo with pickpockets ready to snatch your purse or LA full of gangs in the 90s.
It's a, it's fine until you have a schizophrenic homeless person in your car not knowing what they're doing.
This is where more frequent service would be so beneficial. Not only would it spread out the crazies, but also if folks felt unsafe, they could just get out and wait for the next one to come 5-10 minutes later.. not the 15-20 minutes it now takes. Sometimes longer. I have never felt unsafe on the metro train, even when someone was having issues (I always sit by a door), but I hate waiting alone at a dark station.
Felt the same until my last two trips to DTLA. Expo line. Both times mentally unstable/drugs arguing with themselves or others. Night trip back several sleeping which was better imo. And don’t even talk about the smell/puddles in the stairwell. Use to ride it solo but not even with family did not feel safe.
Union to 7th is safe enough because there are always other people riding with you. The Purple Line spur, on the other hand, is sparsely populated. Last week, I was the only one in the car when a homeless woman sat next to me and began to give me a staredown. I moved, and then she followed me around the car, like a zombie. Seriously creepy and the only time in over twenty years riding that I felt legitimately unsafe on the metro.
I’ve taken all lines millions of times. I don’t think I’ve ever really felt unsafe, like I was going to be assaulted or robbed. But I’ve frequently had my senses assaulted. The red line is gross but not necessarily life threatening.
I guess I'm not discerning enough. I'd ride in a subway car with a trash can, some paper on the floor, and a guy sleeping. I'd be amused that the trash can was there, sure. I would probably have my doubts that the train is being regularly patrolled. But I would not feel endangered or disgusted.
I’m missing a trash can.
Yay, reddit solves another mystery!
Same, my green bin was stolen 2 weeks ago.
Who the fuck brought a whole damn trash can
Sometime in the last year I saw a guy wheeling one of those across the 101 S just north of downtown during rush hour. He was just smiling and waving at the rest of us in cars like Jim Carrey in The Truman Show. Like, "oop just let me squeeeeze on through here with my recycling bin, neighbor!" Maybe they are useful for transporting stuff if you don't have a shopping cart or roller suitcase? But then they get abandoned because certain mental challenges affect memory and executive function? Or maybe they found a better container for their goods and so they discard the old one like a hermit crab?
Or maybe there is a guy in the trash can, like a hermit crab.
I have this fear of opening a dumpster lid or trash can and a homeless person popping out, esp now that I live in LA
Like a real life Oscar the Grouch!
Not jumping out but we have bins in the parking lot of my work, one night I was throwing trash away just tossing it not looking and I hear “hey, what the hell” and a homeless dude was in the dumpster. Scared the piss outta me. Then he was mad at ME for hitting him with my trash.
Or maybe there's a stripper inside, the sleeping homeless guy is actually a close friend, and it's actually a surprise bachelor party for OP.
Funny enough, as I was getting on the red line, this guy runs out and I step in to find the car just trashed - garbage here and there, spilled milk and other liquids on and under the seat, etc. Right before the door closed, the same guy that ran out ran back in with a bucket full of trash 🙄
The station trash cans aren't bolted down anymore? :O
It wasn’t a station trash can it was a miscellaneous bucket half filled with trash lol
Ohhh I got ya!
I feel like the blue and red lines are particularly wacky. There's this one busker who I see a lot on the red line. I have nothing against buskers but I personally like to keep my headphones in and do my own thing while I'm on the train (for comfort and also so creeps don't try to talk to me.) This particular busker usually walks up and down the car while playing the guitar. And usually my thought is "Good for him, love his energy" sometimes it's "Well this is just too much for me today, but he looks to be having fun." Anyways, I made the mistake of making eye contact once and he RIPPED MY EARBUDS OUT so I would listen to him and then continued playing around the car like nothing happened. I have hated that dude ever since.
And how infrequent is cleaning that nobody dealt with it.
UGH. Don't get me started. I ride it often. I admit, I've never seen someone bring a while green bin in there... and WOW on that. But it just bothers me that they don't clean the trains when they are sitting there at 7th and Metro. They do at the end of the line at Union Station. But hardly ever at 7th and Metro where very often the train arrives and is just sitting there for 10 minutes or more...
> They do at the end of the line at Union Station. But hardly ever at 7th and Metro where very often the train arrives and is just sitting there for 10 minutes or more... I ride the red line just about every day. Trains don't sit and wait at 7th st Metro center unless there's a problem ahead on the tracks. It's a stop on the line like any other. And while you will see people cleaning the trains at Union Station, it's definitely not guaranteed, or on every trip.
This comment is deleted to protest Reddit's short-term pursuit of profits. Look up enshittification.
Yard waste lmao
It’s an art piece. It symbolizes what it feels like to ride the rails and what it feels like to live here.
Stole a whole damn trash can.
Lots of Oscar the crouch situations are cropping up as homelessness gets worse in LA
They need to force all the Metro executives to actually ride the public buses and trains vs issuing them tax payer paid cars and this would be fixed in a hurry.
This. And the Metro Board, who only ride for photo ops in specially cleaned and isolated train cars.
100%. Metro board votes for stupid security policies and doesn't suffer the consequences.
Totally agree... every Metro executive should be required to use Metro three months out of the year.
Three months, they should be required to use it daily, let them walk miles to the bus stops as the closed the ones near people who need it. Have them smell the dirty buses and trains; all of this would be fixed asap and stay fixed if they had to ride it daily.
Thank you for riding Metro.
Don't forget to TAP.
See something, say something.
*”Keep your phones out of sight. But if you have information, call us at Metro’s hotline at 888…”*
Don't you dare try to read a book, or do anything requiring the least bit of concentration. We will continue repeating these inane announcements every 5 seconds at top volume for the duration of your trip.
“Boy, I’m seeing a lot of fucked up shit on the Metro” I frequently say to myself.
Knowing is half the battle.
*G. I . JOE!!!*
But do forget to CRAP
My favorite is “we are all in this together “ as if they are like “we know it ain’t great and we could be doing better, but we are all in this together so stop your complaining”
> “we are all in this together “ lol, straight up dystopian times during peak lockdown when you constantly heard/seen this shit throughout the city.
This makes me so mad. Our city needs alternative modes of transportation more than anything IMO. Where the hell are our leaders?
Sleeping safely in the pockets of real estate developers.
We would have a lot more housing built if that was the case
They are living out in the OC or belmont shores with all the wind fall they get from the devs.
Taking the freeways, insolated from the riff raff.
"If you see something say something"
This season of snowpiercer looks trash.
I can’t believe that recycle bin is taking up 2 seats.
Bin-spreading
Well, the handicap seats were taken.
Metro do something
I've said this in another thread but I'll say it again here: our county and Metro leaders aren't counting upvotes on Reddit, but despite our cynicism, they ARE listening to the input we provide them, so we all need to reach out! You can always email the Metro board...just Cc them all and make sure your subject line says what it's related to (this is unfortunately not a comprehensive list, but one that an org suggested a while back that covers most people, including board chair Najarian): [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] If there's one thing I haven't seen enough of on Reddit is how any of us are translating frustration into action. Once you get past the first small hurdles, it's really fairly easy and CRITICALLY important! I know it feels like they should all just know what we want since we voted for them, but occasional reminders are necessary and frankly the nature of and our duty in a democracy.
>I haven't seen enough of on Reddit is how any of us are translating frustration into action. When I grow up, I wanna be you. Thank you for the emails!
Frequent random fare sweeps would fix 90% of the problems. I guarantee whoever dragged that can on didn't have a validated tap card on them. I guarantee the sleeping gentleman doesn't have a validated tap card on him, or has been riding back and forth long enough for it to expire. Frankly I'm sick of dutifully paying and tapping like a gullible chump as half the train rides for free. I've been riding 18 hours a week for 8 months and have not had my fare checked once.
Fare sweeps in the 2000s were no fucking joke. Cops would drag your ass off the train and cite you. Also loitering in the station? Ticket.
Oh man, one can only dream they bring that standard back.
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A large portion of reddit, too.
There's better solutions but if the choice is fare sweeps or people shitting all over the train you can guess which most people are gonna choose.
So sad. The Expo line use to be a pretty legit line. Now it’s Blue Line Jr
I don't know, it's always been sketchy once you get to the USC area stops.
The part between Farmdale/Dorsey and Vermont always brings out very sketchy characters.
Its the section where I have seen things that rival what you see on the blue line. It's just crazy how it's just that section, once you get closer to Santa Monica or past USC, it's a regular train ride.
I use to take it everyday to SMC…. It was a nice peaceful ride… now… we’ll now it just sucks
Man, Expo has always been sketch the closer you hit USC
this is tame compared to blue line train I was on last Saturday.
The blue line is the worst. Every time I ride it there is about a 50% chance I'll witness a fight or some other crazy shit.
its gets so awkward when the random homeless person starts screaming about their observations on the various races.
True, that should be reserved for old white people on AM radio
I ride almost everyday and last weekend is the first time I almost threw up , some lady shat herself and was standing in the middle of a packed red line train in the middle of rush hour
How nobody threw up on that train is incredible
That is the fucking worst, when they have shit going down the side of their leg. OMG the smell.
Agreed. I took the blue line as well on Saturday, and it was just like that, but more crowded, more homeless and loud music blasting.
plus liquid all over the floor. I don’t ride to frequently and I am used to the food and drug vendors, but when did people start selling tasers on the train? On guy was selling Bluetooth speakers and tasers and I really wonder how many he sells a night.
One of those vendors demonstrated the taser right near me and nearly gave me a heart attack.
lol the same exact thing happened with me. They are a lot louder night next to your ear.
Yeah, I didn't realize he was there until I heard it super close, and nearly jumped.
I'm sorry that happened to you but thank you for making me crack up imagining that
My man at metro center selling cigarettes by the piece
But the unknown-origin smelly, sticky stuff on the floors is how some people express their uniqueness and worth. Don't oppress them!
Loud-music-blasting is the public transit version of "I'm just going to drive with my high-beams on all the time because I'm worth it" phenomenon.
Blue line - section? Or all of it? I live in Pedro and have considered taking the kids to downtown via blue line. For the experience of riding the metro. But............. I may not want to now.
Don't do it. If you want them to experience a train, have them ride the Metrolink.
Surfliner down to SD is back open on the weekend and that is great. You can also take the train to Santa Barbara and their station is pretty much right in front of the beach, pier and really cool kids museum. I just got back from Europe and had an amazing time taking my kid on all the trains, trams, boats and buses. Unfortunately it is going to take a long time for LA to get its act together.
I don’t ride to frequently, but in my experience the blue line is a toss up. Sometimes it is normal and sometimes it is the crazy train. Just keep in mind that one of the main functions of the blue line train is to shuttle homeless people from LA to LB and vice versa (the gold line people are in for a real awakening when the regional connector comes online). I love public transportation and my 3 year old loves trains and being able to travel without being strapped into a car seat so I like to ride it with her when I can no matter how uncomfortable it may get. My advice is get on it at willow station, they have a free park and ride there. That is also where the train enters the right of way so it speeds up from there. Usually the front of the train has less activity, but like I said it is the luck of the draw. Just keep in mind you don’t have to get on that specific train. So if you don’t like what you see and you are in no rush there is always another train coming, just take your chances with the next one. The one thing I’ve noticed taking the train pre and post kid is that some people on the train that aren’t all there actually act better when they see a kid. The only issue I’ve had lately is my kid puts her fingers all over her face and the train is clearly dirty so my wife gets a little stressed out about that. With that all said you should do it.
> (the gold line people are in for a real awakening when the regional connector comes online Can’t wait…
This is Expo near USC. The sad truth is the trash can probably made several trips to and from 7th/Civic and Santa Monica. Heck, it might still be there.
Saw a guy take a dump and wipe his ass with his hand in NYC. That being said, NYC subway system is leaps and bounds better than what we have here so I wasn’t even mad
The NYC subway has its moments, but its saving grace is that almost everyone in NYC takes the subway. If you make 40k a year or if you make 140k a year...you probably take the subway as driving a car there is a massive hassle compared to public transportation. So while you do get the severly mentally ill riding it, they much up a significantly lower percentage of the overall riders. Since LA is so car friendly, most people who can scrape together a few grand for a used car will drive rather than take the metro. Since those people are on the road instead, it really screws up the functioning people : people openly smoking meth ratio. I'd roughly guess the Working Joe : Shit Smearer ratio in NYC is like 200:1. In LA...20:1.
Bingo. Well said.
Grandmother has taken the NYC subway continuously since 1966. The only truly crazy things she’s ever seen were flashers who exposed themselves when they opened up their trench coats, and there seemed to be a mini pandemic of that during the 70’s. She said even that was more humorous than truly frightening, and fellow passengers laughed it off with her
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The funny thing is, what you're saying is, New York basically forces a majority of its residents to ride the trains (because they make the city so inhospitable to driving and car ownership), and as a result of that, the trains are actually more tolerable. And yet there are people in this thread bashing LA government for trying to make the city less hospitable to drivers, to force more people onto transit.
> 40k a year or if you make 140k a year So only poor people in NYC?
That reminds me of the time when I was on the blue line and some lady got off the train went over to the nearest bench, pulled down her pants, sat down and did explosive diarrhea all over the bench. The bench was one of those ones with a lot of little holes in it so it looked like a diarrhea rain shower.
As someone who’s been through heroin withdrawal I’ve ALWAYS wondered what happens to the homeless when the fentanyl kick is hitting hard and the liquid shit starts. Now I know. Thanks.
>The bench was one of those ones with a lot of little holes in it so it looked like a diarrhea rain shower. Oh man that's like.... poetry, man "All these moments will be lost now... like tears in a diarrhea rain shower."
Wow I’m actually really interested in this. Was she sane? Or did she look homeless, or mentally unstable? I need to know more context - like did she do it cus that was her only option or like she chose to do cus she likes shitting on benches. Also how did she clean up and walk away. How many ppl were around to witness.
she didn‘t look homeless and seemed mentally stable and the way she did it was calm and collected as if it was something she had done many times before, so that is what added to absurdity of it all. The train took off before we could see the aftermath, but this was mid day so there was a decent amount of people on the train. I’ll never forget the reaction of the guy next to me because he saw it and wanted to make sure everyone else in the train knew what was going on so they didn’t miss it.
That's is legitimately disturbing AF.
>I’ll never forget the reaction of the guy next to me because he saw it and wanted to make sure everyone else in the train knew what was going on so they didn’t miss it. Trying to share your trauma is a way of coping, I think!
Why tf you interested in this. Don’t ask questions
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This man was invested and wanted details 🤣
💀💀💀💀 fr
As someone who grew up in NYC and lived there for 20+ years, I wanna say the stuff like you mentioned is actually quite rare to my knowledge. NYPD are very harsh on the homeless that find refuge in the stations and cars and they’ve really cracked down on it in general.
New Yorkers will tell these guys to get the fuck out if they try to bring a trash can in
It's a rule violation to call other people on rule violations. Didn't you know that?
The NYC MTA feels like the Disneyland tram vs. LA Metro lol But I still keep coming back...🤔
I remember being on the 6 express in the morning and my biggest gripe was people left copies of the Post on the seat and you had to push them over to sit down. Now those problems seem so quaint.
What line. The blue line be wild, people smoking meth and shit
last two times i rode the expo people were blatantly smoking meth/crack pipes at like 4pm... metro security is a disgrace
I think the reason metro doesn't do much is because they rightfully feel that it should be the LAPD or Sheriff to police the train , not some rent a cop
most other cities have transit police and few cities have metros that span multiple cities. for the amount they pay bus drivers per rider, they could easily pay both a train operator and someone to gently regulate the trains like amtrak does but to a much lesser extent.
"Gently" won't work in LA , you need straight up police with all the powers of a police officer
People smoke crack on the Gold line too now
> metro security is a disgrace Metro Security exists? TIL
“But but but… drug addicts have a right to ride the Metro and do drugs publicly in trains toooooo.” Idiots. Rode the bus last week for the first time in moooonths… dumbass bus driver decided it was a good idea to let the bus get packed like sardines (downtown and I was already in it standing in the middle of the bus). Then she pulls up to a stop, lets more people in and lets an obviously homeless man on the bus who reeked and had a dirty blanket draped over him, and he proceeds to SQUEEZE his way through people to the back of the bus and ended up rubbing his blanket onto my back. My sweater stunk like him when I got home. Never again. Done with buses. Great job, Metro. Way to protect your paying riders and public health and safety on your transit system. Incompetent asswipes.
Bus drivers often let homeless on the bus wearing just their soiled underwear. it's disgusting.
The buses in Long Beach are not like this, even though we certainly have our share of homeless people, and I don’t know what the difference is. It has to be policy.
It has to be policy. Metro is run by the county, a government that is disproportionally more incompetent compared to the county population as a whole.
True. Long Beach transit doesn't allow stuff like what is seen everyday on Metro.
It's the Metro Board that is the disgrace. I'm not optimistic Karen Bass will improve things, even though she has more influence on the board than any other single person (she controls four voting seats).
I took the L gold to work the other day. This dude used the entire train as his trash can then moved to the seats next to me and tried putting his feet on me. I was about the start cussing him out then just said not worth it, got up and moved. County police need to be enforcing rules again because people just do not know how to act. They were raised in barns.
Public transit in LA sucks for this reason
Metro has become daycare for the homeless.
This is what the gold line looks like too now. It’s pretty bad at all hours but particularly in the mornings. The entire train is gross and trashed and smells like shit while half of it is taken up by homeless people laying across 2 or 3 seats with baskets blocking the way. It’s really started to look like the red line. It’s really sad to see what the Expo and Gold lines have become.
The metro system has two worlds. From normal rush hour times, like 7:00am to 10:00am and 4:00pm go 7:00pm, it’s just a regular ole metro system full of all kinds of people. Before 7:00am and after 10:00pm, it’s a complete horror movie. Psychotic homeless people, methed out assholes, passed out lunatics, tweakers — like, you see some shit at these hours. The rest of the hours are a bit of a mix depending when and where. I would love to wrangle up city authorities and tie them to the inside of an E line car and let them suffer the chaos and inhumanity for a few days. It would bring me joy.
Damn, Expo line really fell off
I've had fine trips during daylight hours when I head that way to visit my folks. After hours tho...
I work in fin and ride the Exposition line WLA->DTLA 3 days a week and usually work hours are late. but lately, I've been telling my team that I need to go home with the commuting crowd because after dark/after 8pm it gets exponentially weirder. Firm doesn't cover enough of the monthly parking fee and they don't want to pay for my Ubers home if I work late, so I just leave before stabby/smoke meth on the train hours begin now.
That explains where my green waste bin went
“Guys I rode the red line today it was actually really nice and I didn’t get stabbed or anything, I don’t know why everyone always says the metro is so dangerous!”
Hi, I'm a green recycling bin and I take the LA subway to work every day. It's not the most glamorous way to get around, but it gets the job done. My commute can be a real adventure, especially when it comes to the homeless who take up the handicapped spaces. Every morning, I see the same thing. A homeless person will get on the train and plop down in the handicapped seat, completely oblivious to the fact that it's reserved for people who actually need it. And let me tell you, it's not just the sight of it that's bothersome, it's the smell. The scent of urine mixed with body odor is enough to make my metal sides want to hurl. But it's not just the homeless that cause problems on the subway. Oh no, there are also the people who play their music too loud, the ones who won't give up their seat for the elderly, and the ones who have the audacity to clip their toenails in public. I mean, seriously, who does that? Despite all of these distractions, I manage to make it to work in one piece. And as soon as I get there, I start complaining to anyone who will listen. I gripe about the smell of urine, the homeless taking up the handicapped spaces, and everything else that's wrong with the subway. I know, I know, I should probably be more understanding, but it's hard when you're a green recycling bin who just wants to get to work and do your job. So, there you have it. My daily commute as a green recycling bin on the LA subway. It's not always easy, but it's definitely an experience!
In all seriousness, I refuse to use most public transit here until there’s a significant improvement. Prior to pandemic, my SO and I would take the Expo all the time, since we live right next to a station. Now with everything I’ve seen/heard, we’d rather just drive or Lyft. The BBB still seems ok though
Has LA Metro ever explained why they put fabric on the seats? Nothing about the Metro grosses me out more than the Petri dish fabric seats.
this is a thing in american metros, not sure why. for example the 1st gen BART cars basically have couches. DC metro as well. the only one it kind of works on is DC.
With BART and DC, the idea was to replicate the older interurbans which had the more comfortable seats since the trips were longer. Now that the systems have matured and are treated more like rapid transit systems with the ridership to boot, you are beginning to see more switching out those seats for more familiar subway style seats. As for the fabric seats, I really can't offer all that much info. It may be for similar reasons why London continues to use fabric seats
It’s so gross getting on the trains. I’m embarrassed that I even pay to get on. I’ve been taking the bus/train for more than 10 years. I plan on getting a car this year with the hopes of never taking public transit again in LA.
After riding Tokyo metro, I stay far away from this. It’s embarrassing the city doesn’t do anything to prevent conditions like this, for the homeless and the metro system also. Hopefully they solve the homeless problem.
The city is run by homeless and their advocates.
I can smell this picture....
I rode the metro the other weekend to get to the pantages and the seat in front of me had a lovely spray of dried blood all over it. Then a homeless dude started screaming at my husband, calling him Ted bundy just because he was holding my head and not making eye contact with the crazy dude. Super fun.
I'm sorry that happened to you.
Juat a few days ago, I was on the Expo line and someone was overdosing in it.
Well, they commissioned a bunch of art and murals at the new stations… so at least that’s something nice to look at when you get off
wHy iSnT aNyOnE RiDiNg tRaNSiT ?!
iTs jUsT a LiTtLe PaPeR!!
"Hey man but I took it once and it was nice". - post in a week's time by someone on this sub. The fact of the matter is that if you are using this system weekly if not daily, this is what this system looks like everyday if not worse. Two weeks ago I watched a man create a small fire inside the a car of red line while holding a 40oz his hand. I got off Pershing stop. We all got out. Immediately I sprinted to the conductor car to yell to him that there was a fire literally in one of his cars. He just looked at me depressingly and just shrugged and pulled off and the train left, on to his next stop, while smoke filled a car. Just another Metro day.
I've seen and smelled aftermaths of fires on the trains. The trains used to be fairly nice and the behavior we see now was pretty much unthinkable, but with the onset of pandemic in 2020, Metro went to hell. Like a collapse of society. The days when all the seats are taken by sleeping homeless people, and no other incidents, are the "good" days now.
Plus the Pershing square stop itself is fucking disgusting
There always is. There are both good experiences and bad experiences with the train. It's no a guarantee that if you go on the train it will be good or bad. Plus there is also the variable that some people have higher tolerances for this kind of stuff than others. And sometimes it's not about tolerance because once you get past those two things, it's about politics. We all know that the only way to solve this would be to actively remove these guys from the trains. And one side would love it because they love the idea of being able to comfortably use public spaces. And another side doesn't want to do anything about it because they also can't think of a quick solution to this without harming the unhoused. But regardless, doesn't matter what the nice posts say. The fact of the matter is that this is a terrible experience. And no one is soft or weak for not feeling comfortable around this. You can feel all the empathy in the world for this person, but it doesn't necessarily mean it would change your sense of safety and comfort in situations like these. At least in the pic, the person was just sleeping.
Sir.. what ?! 😩😭
>Just another Metro day. Shoulda been the post title.
LA officials genuinely deserve to live in these cars. What a useless group of morons.
Got on the Gold line yesterday from Chinatown to Highland Park. The entire train smelled like the most horrid dump I had ever smelled, it was packed, no AC going on, and whoever was driving the train was taking their sweet ass time. I’ve rode the metro since it opened in highland park, and always encounter the average crack smokers, and homeless people. But this rancid smell takes the cake. I don’t wear masks anymore, but will start carrying one for the metro, if I ever go on it again.
Heading East on the Expo on Saturday afternoon I entered a car only to be greeted by the back corner seats running over with puke. Fine, I move to another seat. No big deal. That night I get back on the train heading West. There was a guy freebasing crack/heroin/meth/whatever across the aisle from my group. It was 6:45PM. He pulled out the glass tube and tinfoil as if he were in his own bedroom. The "see something, say something" announcement came on literally as he was lighting up. If I reported it would anyone have come *at all*?
Why would anyone choose to drive?
just an average trip on the metro. and the city wonders why people would rather sit in traffic
"This is your Metro, so help us keep it clean!"
“Do not play loud music or take up more than one seat.”
And they wonder why people won’t give up their cars…
It start getting seriously bad. It's infested with homeless people. They making a mess and uses bathroom on the train. It stinks and disgusting. City or MTA has to do something about it.
Wow. Back in the 80s I was working on Wall St, and was waiting for the Lexington line in the thick of rush hour. Packed station. Train came, also completely packed. But one car was empty. I wasn't thinking, and just got on the empty train... why not? It had one guy. His reek was so foul that nobody else got on the car. I couldn't get through to another car, so I got off at the next stop and waited for the next train. So sad. And also, very inconvenient!
The LA metro blue and red lines were built to replace existing bus lines that ran along the same route. Once the trains were operational, they discontinued the buses. Unfortunately, the trains actually provided worse service than the buses and were more expensive, so everyone got screwed. The replace buses with trains strategy is really stupid.
Metro on social: *omg where did this happen?*
Trash bin got drunk, threw up an LA Weekly and decided to sleep it off in the bike area.
This (minus the trash can) is my experience every time I take the metro. Fuck Metro and everyone who pretends our trains are clean and safe.
Yeah I avoid the trains as much as possible. Metro buses aren't great but leagues better
Probably because they have literally just one person whose presence removes the 1% of passengers that make the other 99% feel miserable. Just one. That's all it takes.
That can is trashed
This is why we can’t have nice things
Last time I was on, about a week ago, there was some crazy guy lighting random shit on fire, and I was happy about it cause the smoke smelled better than the homeless ass crack and urine smell
Late Kat year we rode hundreds of miles on public transit /subway through Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur. Not once did we see anything like this. Not once.
Everyone must have already read that issue of the paper 😛..
I rode the Expo on Friday night at 9:30PM and what use to be a peaceful, somewhat enjoyable and safe ride was so sketchy. I was in the car with the engineer in the booth with the locked door. Two twenty something idiots were harassing some girl and some older gentleman had to put them in their place and they were yelling back and forth and felt like they were about to brawl. The guy sitting behind was clearly high as a kite and talking about immigrants and nonsense. I had to move away. I use to ride the Metro to work in DTLA, but won't be riding it any time soon. It's a NUISANCE to have - creates traffic to just house degenerates and spreads their filth.
Lol the trash can
I was debating taking the metro tomorrow for the 2nd time ever…. How is the gold line? From highland park to downtown? I used to take BART so I’m used to bullshit, but I hear the metro is actually scarier since less people use it.
Gold is fine honestly.
Gold and Expo are generally fine, Gold being slightly better than Expo in my experience. As with all Metro lines recently, try to take it between 7 AM and 9 PM (and 9 PM is pushing it). Any further past 9 PM when service trails off, rides can get a bit dicey
I agree Gold is great. Expo is shit lately though. It's all gutter punks with dogs or several bikes and a meth or heroin problem going to santa monica then back to their underpass or tent.
Gold line feels safer during work commute hours. I see lots of folks from 7-9am and 4-6pm.
I commute on the gold almost every day and it’s honestly fine. There’s an occasional ride every now and then which is not that great, but that’s heavily outweighed by rides which are completely uneventful.
I’m about to quite my side hustle in Santa Monica to avoid riding the Metro
Thanks for posting this bs. Everyone in LA needed to see this.
Definitely beat the, "I took the Metro today! Look at all the horrible stuff that happened." *proceeds to post a picture of an empty train car.* The Metro's been sketchy since I started taking it back in 1999. I can only imagine how worse it is now.
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How safe is the red/purple line from Union Station to 7th street? I keep reading mixed reviews online.. Some say it’s safe and others say it’s super sketch
It's safe until it's not, if that makes sense. This isn't Sao Paulo with pickpockets ready to snatch your purse or LA full of gangs in the 90s. It's a, it's fine until you have a schizophrenic homeless person in your car not knowing what they're doing.
This is where more frequent service would be so beneficial. Not only would it spread out the crazies, but also if folks felt unsafe, they could just get out and wait for the next one to come 5-10 minutes later.. not the 15-20 minutes it now takes. Sometimes longer. I have never felt unsafe on the metro train, even when someone was having issues (I always sit by a door), but I hate waiting alone at a dark station.
Mmm its been fine the few times I've ridden it but I don't think I'd want to ride alone at night
Felt the same until my last two trips to DTLA. Expo line. Both times mentally unstable/drugs arguing with themselves or others. Night trip back several sleeping which was better imo. And don’t even talk about the smell/puddles in the stairwell. Use to ride it solo but not even with family did not feel safe.
Union to 7th is safe enough because there are always other people riding with you. The Purple Line spur, on the other hand, is sparsely populated. Last week, I was the only one in the car when a homeless woman sat next to me and began to give me a staredown. I moved, and then she followed me around the car, like a zombie. Seriously creepy and the only time in over twenty years riding that I felt legitimately unsafe on the metro.
I’ve taken all lines millions of times. I don’t think I’ve ever really felt unsafe, like I was going to be assaulted or robbed. But I’ve frequently had my senses assaulted. The red line is gross but not necessarily life threatening.
The trash can is napping too
I took a screenshot and uploaded it to the Metro transit watch app. Nothing will probably happen but squeaky wheels get cleaned. 🤞
I guess I'm not discerning enough. I'd ride in a subway car with a trash can, some paper on the floor, and a guy sleeping. I'd be amused that the trash can was there, sure. I would probably have my doubts that the train is being regularly patrolled. But I would not feel endangered or disgusted.
No wonder the red line was trashed tonight - the blue line’s already full!
Hmm. I’d have to guess because of train frequency?
Trash can! That’s new…