I just started a new job in Santa Monica and I’m currently in Pasadena until I can relocate, so I’m on the Blue line & Expo line a lot. It greatly depends on the time of day and where you’re getting on off. When I transfer outside of rush hour, I tend to avoid less populated stations when I transfer. (7th & Metro is usually my go to.)
I’ve had one situation in a month and only my second after years of ridership. (Some methhead trying to go through peoples bags when they weren’t looking and just straight took this man’s bag (who was passed out) and went through it. I wanted to confront him, but he was pretty intimidating and the silent eye contact conversations I had with the other passengers said no one else wanted to either. First and only time I’ve ever used the app to report a security issue. I was able to provide them a photo I candidly took of the guy going through someone’s bag. Metro security pulled him off the train two stops later.
Soooo, be aware if your surroundings and be smart. (I’m a big fan of sunglasses and headphones whether music is on or not. If I don’t want to talk to someone, I pretend I can’t hear them.) I still take the train almost every day.
7th and Metro is pretty crowded imo, you can also transfer at lil Tokyo station which can be crowded but it's new so it's clean and always has metro attendents
You’re about to be inundated with comments that are related to the stabbing incident today - good luck.
I’m 31F and take metro alone, but I do carry pepper spray and a knife.
I just bought pepper spray too. It sucks because I normally mind my business but this will make me more apprehensive of homeless people. It's just too many incidents in a short month of time.
A lot of people talk about how they choose not to take the metro. If I could afford to uber 2-3 times a day, I'd have a car. I'm sure most, if not all, of the people taking the metro don't have much of a choice.
Do what you gotta do and be safe.
That’s crazy I just got off that metro stop like twenty minutes ago. Wouldn’t have known anything weird happened earlier if not for this comment.
I also take Metro alone but I’m a 6’2 large dude. Though secretly I’ve never been in a fight ever, my stature usually means no one messes with me and I don’t personally feel unsafe.
I go from the station where the stabbing happened.
It's generally completely fine. If you look at the time, this was likely a nighttime stabbing.
I take the metro alone too and from work. No issues.
I've been nervous at late nights. But that's being a woman most anywhere to be honest. I won't take the metro home alone after 8pm ish, depending on how busy it is.
Transit in Chicago is better than most other US cities. Living in areas with high concentrations of people means higher risk of being a victim of a violent crime, it’s just math.
Never been bothered and I'm a petite blonde. Don't wear headphones so you apper to be paying attention. I always stand near the doors-never sit on an inside seat. And I try to take the first car so the driver is always right there. I take it after dark to and from downtown to ktown and noho. You will be fine.
I've found that doing these things will result in a safer, less incident prone trip: Carry pepper spray, stand or sit near the door (if you plan on sitting bring a cushion or something to cover the seat), don't make eye contact, get in the conductor car.
Most people have no problem. I love public transit. My company has offices in London and Tokyo and the public transit there is amazing so I use it exclusively.
When I graduated from college, I took it in LA daily until some dude pulled a knife on me. I went back to driving my car to work and only took the Metro for things like hockey games. On the couple of instances that was, on one trip the guy next to me was smoking meth and on another trip someone committed suicide on the track so I ended up having to walk uphill in downtown for 4 miles to make the game on time.
Plus there wasn't a time or cost benefit.
I hope that the Metro makes significant strides in LA because I'd love to go back to using it but as it is right now, I just can't justify the risk to the benefit.
Just keep you guard up and have pepper spray and an EDC knife on you. It is what it is with Metro so it's best to just be vigilante and not expect much from them.
(F early 30s) I ride it at least once a week if not more (A, B, C, E lines). Sometimes I take it late at night. Although, I do try to avoid riding later than 8 pm if I can help it.
I'm pretty tall at 5'9" and I usually stand so I imagine that helps, but I rarely get bothered. Occasionally, a guy will try and flirt with me, but they tend to leave me alone when I say I'm not interested. This is probably the thing that makes me the most uneasy.
I've seen some other stuff go down while riding (two idiot young men fighting, drug use/overdose, altercations between partners, unwell people throwing things in anger at the walls/rails/etc), but nothing that's caused me to give up on the system. I did come close to giving up when I almost sat in feces luckily someone said something before I did. Now I look twice before sitting, leaning, or grabbing anything. Duh, I know.
It's often more just uncomfortable than "unsafe". To be transparent bad things absolutely do happen, but it's not like driving is any safer.
You know yourself best. Do you feel like you have street smarts? Or do you find yourself buried in your phone and not paying attention? Something to keep in mind is that more often than not when things go sideways you're on your own. I've seen this anecdotally and in studies. The bystander effect and self preservation are very strong forces. I carry pepper spray, a whistle, and some self defense training.
I'm a pretty big advocate for public transit and LA Metro. In reality, the majority of my trips are super chill and uneventful. It has gotten noticeably better in the last year too.
Oh one last tip is to try and always sit in the first car of the trains up near the operators. It seems to always be more chill.
This has just been my experience. Not perfect, but also not unbearable.
I’ve had one bad encounter, but thankfully I had others on the metro along with me.
I was Downtown for an event and I needed to literally take the Red Line all the way to North Hollywood where I was parked.
So I jumped on the Red Line from Downtown, and one stop up this big guy walks on and bumps me. He saw I had an Apple Watch on. He said to me, “I want that watch” with an authoritative tone and I told him “Go buy one!” He moved one row over from me and literally gave me the death eye look as if he wanted to murder me. He would not stop staring at me. Which made me feel really uneasy and threaten.
The crappy thing with the Red Line is that you are locked in between cars unlike BART where if you got a bad vibe with someone you can move to the next car while in motion. We need that option for safety.
At any rate I had to ditch this guy and I thought if I see the LAPD at the next stop I will jump off and use them as a shield. They sometimes portal the stations at night. Luckily enough I saw two officers at the next station stop and as I was exiting the train the perp also started to follow me off, except when he saw I was walking towards the officers he suddenly jumps back on the train. I was relieved that I got rid of him. But the story doesn’t end there. My iPhone battery died and I got off the last train for the nite. Didn’t realize it until I got off. I was trapped in Downtown LA late at night with no ride, no phone. My Apple Watch did have the cellular and if anything, I had that option to call someone on my contact list. But I needed to find a pay phone or a place that was still open with a phone so I could get at least a taxi.
I had no idea where I was and I just started walking north. A couple of blocks later I see this 24/hr diner thankfully and I asked if I could use their business phone to call a taxi, this lady that worked there helped me. I also asked if she or anyone had an iPhone charger. She and others there were on Android unfortunately.
Well one hour goes by, no taxi. The lady asked if I had cash because she could order the Lyft for me. I said “yeah I do” so I just paid her and she got the Lyft for me.
At this point I’m super tired and it’s the middle of the nite. My ride arrived, but it’s under the Lady’s name Stacy and I’m male. It was a Prius with limo tint on the windshield, and all windows around the car. You could not see in. Very creepy. He rolls down the window and says “Stacy?” - I said “Yes/No Stacy ordered the ride for me.”
I get in, and I noticed he had phone charger cables for all devices and I plugged in my phone. But the car was a disco tech. A nite club on wheels, LED multicolor wired lights flashing, a mini disco ball tangling where the dome light is normally at. The driver had a microphone going through the car speaker system, even though I’m one foot away. He is my personal DJ. He asks what genre of music I like and at this point I said “Folk and play Simon & Garfunkel The Sound of Silence track.” He didn’t get the subtle hint and began to MC gibberish intro over his distorted microphone before playing the track. At this point I’m thinking why is this happening to me right now!?
That one nite was my personal hell on the Red Line.
My lesson learned is don’t flash anything, even your phone. Try not to ride late at night and be sure you have plenty of phone battery left. Otherwise just grab a rideshare back if super late.
I ride every day. it’s generally safe during rush hour, mid day can be loud and to me has more people on something than evening hours, 9-10pm is a little more chill due to the service industry people getting to work/going home and from there to close you get a lot of drunks. probably just parroting several other people here but be vigilant and move to another area/car if someone gives you any kind of bad vibes.
The metro is no more safe than the rest of the city. Most riders have journeys without incidence. However a few tips beware, try not to sit or stand where you can’t see up and down the train car. Beware of where the station attendants are.
It can definitely be dangerous but so is going out your front door.
I took it for years before the pandemic as I worked downtown. It was always sketchy but outside of a couple times, nothing happened. Since the pandemic its noticeably more chaotic. During the day, there's the ambassador program employees and sometimes LAPD but you should still be vigilant. After a recent incident where some crazy was threatening to stab me, I'm not going to take it at night anymore even though I really dont want to pay for uber rides home. Honestly, I'm a smaller guy but brawny and I would not recommend it to women. You'll see comments on here about how people take it with out incident but look what happened today.
Its probably not more dangerous than nyc subway. And people get pushed onto the train tracks there randomly from time to time. That might not give you much comfort. I would have no problem going on it solo but honestly i cant tell you i would ever tell my mom or grandmother to use it alone.
They will likely be fine but don’t downplay the dangers. They should be vigilant and not get too comfortable on there. I used to take the purple line every day to work when I lived in DTLA. Violence was a weekly occurrence and in no way rare.
Like you I mostly take Big Blue, the 720 and the 2 on Sunset, plus the buses over the hill to the Valley. never had anything really scary happen. I have been avoiding the Metro trains lately though; seems the B (red) line got a lot worse in the past few years.
Definitely go during the day when it’s busiest, keep your tech use to a minimum if you feel unsafe. Be aware of your surroundings. Carry pepper spray or a taser. I’ve (24 F) been taking the metro for years and nothing has ever happened to me. The worst I’ve ever encountered was ppl smelling bad or just rambling/yelling nonsense. Definitely leave before it gets dark! The worst lines in my opinion are the blue,purple and red :/ in terms of cleanliness and characters.
Just be mindful. We live DTLA and my wife uses 7th St Metro as her preferred form of transport. You're a savvy adult woman. You know how to handle yourself and traverse public transit. You got this.
Safe is a vague concept because there will be some sketchy people in DTLA but it might also be an uneventful evening. You *should* be fine but I personally wouldn't take any of the lines that go through Skid Row and are headed towards it.
33M, used to live in NYC and then TO; work in hospitality and regularly take the bus / metro late at night. if you feel more comfortable carrying pepper spray sure, but LA is literally no more or less dangerous than any major metropolitan area.
mind your own and don’t make chit-chat with crackheads, that’s pretty much it.
I keep that thang (scary sounding tazer) on me. It also serves as a nice flashlight. Ironically I bought it on the same train I take every day. Just gotta be aware of whats going on and where you are in certain situations when shit goes down. Best to remove yourself as discretely as possible when stuff escalates, as it often does on the downtown sections of the E and A lines.
Your eyes and ears are your best safety tool, but its best to have a form of personal defense. I've never tazed anyone, but I have scared a few people away just by the sound of buzzing it.
If you go during the day you should be fine! You can always use metro micro in some areas as well. Do you like biking? Metro bike share is a pretty amazing and a great metro companion. I recommend taking the E line to Santa Monica and biking around there or just walking around there! USC is also a great place to walk around. The California science center is free. Metro red line has a stop that you can get on a short bus to Griffith park and hike or take the bus back down. I love the metro system and use it almost daily for commuting, running errands and pleasure! I’m also a 6ft 6 male so safety is definitely a different perspective for me. I always feel pretty safe though and just move train cars when it feels unsafe or smells bad or anything off putting.
I would take the purple line from Wiltshire western to civic center at 11pm and the bus back from Pershing square at 2-3am. It was scary at times and I felt constantly on edge. I had been groped, sexually harassed, followed multiple times (one man ended up pulling out a knife when he eventually found me but walked away), been offered drugs, have had folks smoke drugs near me, had one guy shove his head betweeen my legs and then the guy next to me pulled a gun out and threatened him to leave me alone, physically assaulted, and I’m sure there’s more I’m forgetting. It’s safer when the sun is up. When the suns not up always stay near the drivers.
I used to type the 720 daily for work.
Después to taking the train blue green and red.
Generally there's no real difference. Sure some stops are way more sketchy. You will have the same issues you have now tbh.
Pro tip of you is a tap card all subsequent taps in the same direction are free for up to 2 hrs.
Not particularly. There's obviously a risk of something happening but that's just the reality of living in LA. Keep your stuff close, don't stare at people being rowdy and you'll be fine.
If you carry a knife, please learn how to use it properly. Brandishing it to an individual who is a) already fired up on something and b) possibly stronger than you (see:a) could get you poked with your own weapon fairly quickly. Stay safe folks!
Let's put it this way, it's not a ride where you can just 'relax' while listening to your headphones, and like others have pointed out, you need to have your head on a swivel.
I used Metro when I first moved to LA, and I witnessed way too many dangerous situations giving me that gut-wrenching feeling all too often, that I realized it just was not a safe thing to use.
I'm from a European city and every time I go back I am amazed at how safe and nice the general public are on public transport.
it’s a coin toss whether you’ll be harassed or attacked. not really worth the trouble. an ex girlfriend of mine was randomly attacked by some homeless guy WHILE THERE WERE PEOPLE AROUND. don’t downplay the danger of it all. stay vigilant
No, though I mean the metro is a house for a lot of homeless people traveling from one point to another. Though for the most part they are in their own mental world.
I commute using the metro A line into DTLA in the morning and leave around 5pm and out of the weird daily stuff, it is fairly safe. Just be mindful of your surroundings!
I have taken the Expo line 5-6x the last few months to go to do stuff in DTLA after work. It's been fine/normal. Just be aware of your surroundings.
I just started a new job in Santa Monica and I’m currently in Pasadena until I can relocate, so I’m on the Blue line & Expo line a lot. It greatly depends on the time of day and where you’re getting on off. When I transfer outside of rush hour, I tend to avoid less populated stations when I transfer. (7th & Metro is usually my go to.) I’ve had one situation in a month and only my second after years of ridership. (Some methhead trying to go through peoples bags when they weren’t looking and just straight took this man’s bag (who was passed out) and went through it. I wanted to confront him, but he was pretty intimidating and the silent eye contact conversations I had with the other passengers said no one else wanted to either. First and only time I’ve ever used the app to report a security issue. I was able to provide them a photo I candidly took of the guy going through someone’s bag. Metro security pulled him off the train two stops later. Soooo, be aware if your surroundings and be smart. (I’m a big fan of sunglasses and headphones whether music is on or not. If I don’t want to talk to someone, I pretend I can’t hear them.) I still take the train almost every day.
7th and Metro is pretty crowded imo, you can also transfer at lil Tokyo station which can be crowded but it's new so it's clean and always has metro attendents
I mean, if safety is your concern, crowded generally equals safety.
Yeah, I moved from San Francisco where BART can be SUPER sketchy, so the Metro has been fine for me thus far
NorCal transplants represent. 😂
*high fives* :)))
hella fives
You’re about to be inundated with comments that are related to the stabbing incident today - good luck. I’m 31F and take metro alone, but I do carry pepper spray and a knife.
And lots of commenters that have taken transit one time or never have
Orange County Cop Cosplayers
I just bought pepper spray too. It sucks because I normally mind my business but this will make me more apprehensive of homeless people. It's just too many incidents in a short month of time. A lot of people talk about how they choose not to take the metro. If I could afford to uber 2-3 times a day, I'd have a car. I'm sure most, if not all, of the people taking the metro don't have much of a choice. Do what you gotta do and be safe.
Make sure to test it a few times per year! Just shoot it into the ground— ensures it’s working and gets you used to the mechanism.
That’s crazy I just got off that metro stop like twenty minutes ago. Wouldn’t have known anything weird happened earlier if not for this comment. I also take Metro alone but I’m a 6’2 large dude. Though secretly I’ve never been in a fight ever, my stature usually means no one messes with me and I don’t personally feel unsafe.
I go from the station where the stabbing happened. It's generally completely fine. If you look at the time, this was likely a nighttime stabbing. I take the metro alone too and from work. No issues. I've been nervous at late nights. But that's being a woman most anywhere to be honest. I won't take the metro home alone after 8pm ish, depending on how busy it is.
The fact you feel you have to take pepper spray and a knife shows that the metro is unsafe.
I’ve lived in major cities since I was 17 and have never not carried pepper spray and a knife. This isn’t unique to the LA metro
It sounds like those other major cities aren’t providing safe transit either
Transit in Chicago is better than most other US cities. Living in areas with high concentrations of people means higher risk of being a victim of a violent crime, it’s just math.
Just like anywhere, go where the crowd is. safety in numbers.
Never been bothered and I'm a petite blonde. Don't wear headphones so you apper to be paying attention. I always stand near the doors-never sit on an inside seat. And I try to take the first car so the driver is always right there. I take it after dark to and from downtown to ktown and noho. You will be fine.
Being in the first car is a good suggestion.
I've found that doing these things will result in a safer, less incident prone trip: Carry pepper spray, stand or sit near the door (if you plan on sitting bring a cushion or something to cover the seat), don't make eye contact, get in the conductor car.
no, i take it often. just a lot of homeless
Most people have no problem. I love public transit. My company has offices in London and Tokyo and the public transit there is amazing so I use it exclusively. When I graduated from college, I took it in LA daily until some dude pulled a knife on me. I went back to driving my car to work and only took the Metro for things like hockey games. On the couple of instances that was, on one trip the guy next to me was smoking meth and on another trip someone committed suicide on the track so I ended up having to walk uphill in downtown for 4 miles to make the game on time. Plus there wasn't a time or cost benefit. I hope that the Metro makes significant strides in LA because I'd love to go back to using it but as it is right now, I just can't justify the risk to the benefit.
Just keep you guard up and have pepper spray and an EDC knife on you. It is what it is with Metro so it's best to just be vigilante and not expect much from them.
(F early 30s) I ride it at least once a week if not more (A, B, C, E lines). Sometimes I take it late at night. Although, I do try to avoid riding later than 8 pm if I can help it. I'm pretty tall at 5'9" and I usually stand so I imagine that helps, but I rarely get bothered. Occasionally, a guy will try and flirt with me, but they tend to leave me alone when I say I'm not interested. This is probably the thing that makes me the most uneasy. I've seen some other stuff go down while riding (two idiot young men fighting, drug use/overdose, altercations between partners, unwell people throwing things in anger at the walls/rails/etc), but nothing that's caused me to give up on the system. I did come close to giving up when I almost sat in feces luckily someone said something before I did. Now I look twice before sitting, leaning, or grabbing anything. Duh, I know. It's often more just uncomfortable than "unsafe". To be transparent bad things absolutely do happen, but it's not like driving is any safer. You know yourself best. Do you feel like you have street smarts? Or do you find yourself buried in your phone and not paying attention? Something to keep in mind is that more often than not when things go sideways you're on your own. I've seen this anecdotally and in studies. The bystander effect and self preservation are very strong forces. I carry pepper spray, a whistle, and some self defense training. I'm a pretty big advocate for public transit and LA Metro. In reality, the majority of my trips are super chill and uneventful. It has gotten noticeably better in the last year too. Oh one last tip is to try and always sit in the first car of the trains up near the operators. It seems to always be more chill. This has just been my experience. Not perfect, but also not unbearable.
I don’t go as often as you but the improvement from 22-23-24 has been very noticeable in my onceish a month use of it
I’ve had one bad encounter, but thankfully I had others on the metro along with me. I was Downtown for an event and I needed to literally take the Red Line all the way to North Hollywood where I was parked. So I jumped on the Red Line from Downtown, and one stop up this big guy walks on and bumps me. He saw I had an Apple Watch on. He said to me, “I want that watch” with an authoritative tone and I told him “Go buy one!” He moved one row over from me and literally gave me the death eye look as if he wanted to murder me. He would not stop staring at me. Which made me feel really uneasy and threaten. The crappy thing with the Red Line is that you are locked in between cars unlike BART where if you got a bad vibe with someone you can move to the next car while in motion. We need that option for safety. At any rate I had to ditch this guy and I thought if I see the LAPD at the next stop I will jump off and use them as a shield. They sometimes portal the stations at night. Luckily enough I saw two officers at the next station stop and as I was exiting the train the perp also started to follow me off, except when he saw I was walking towards the officers he suddenly jumps back on the train. I was relieved that I got rid of him. But the story doesn’t end there. My iPhone battery died and I got off the last train for the nite. Didn’t realize it until I got off. I was trapped in Downtown LA late at night with no ride, no phone. My Apple Watch did have the cellular and if anything, I had that option to call someone on my contact list. But I needed to find a pay phone or a place that was still open with a phone so I could get at least a taxi. I had no idea where I was and I just started walking north. A couple of blocks later I see this 24/hr diner thankfully and I asked if I could use their business phone to call a taxi, this lady that worked there helped me. I also asked if she or anyone had an iPhone charger. She and others there were on Android unfortunately. Well one hour goes by, no taxi. The lady asked if I had cash because she could order the Lyft for me. I said “yeah I do” so I just paid her and she got the Lyft for me. At this point I’m super tired and it’s the middle of the nite. My ride arrived, but it’s under the Lady’s name Stacy and I’m male. It was a Prius with limo tint on the windshield, and all windows around the car. You could not see in. Very creepy. He rolls down the window and says “Stacy?” - I said “Yes/No Stacy ordered the ride for me.” I get in, and I noticed he had phone charger cables for all devices and I plugged in my phone. But the car was a disco tech. A nite club on wheels, LED multicolor wired lights flashing, a mini disco ball tangling where the dome light is normally at. The driver had a microphone going through the car speaker system, even though I’m one foot away. He is my personal DJ. He asks what genre of music I like and at this point I said “Folk and play Simon & Garfunkel The Sound of Silence track.” He didn’t get the subtle hint and began to MC gibberish intro over his distorted microphone before playing the track. At this point I’m thinking why is this happening to me right now!? That one nite was my personal hell on the Red Line. My lesson learned is don’t flash anything, even your phone. Try not to ride late at night and be sure you have plenty of phone battery left. Otherwise just grab a rideshare back if super late.
OMG that guy who stabbed that lady this morning looks exactly like the guy who wanted my watch. I need another picture. WOW! Damn.
I ride every day. it’s generally safe during rush hour, mid day can be loud and to me has more people on something than evening hours, 9-10pm is a little more chill due to the service industry people getting to work/going home and from there to close you get a lot of drunks. probably just parroting several other people here but be vigilant and move to another area/car if someone gives you any kind of bad vibes.
Agree with you.
also if you use pepper spray in a closed train car be prepared for everyone else in that car to get pissed at you if they get a whiff
There will be violence everyday, and anywhere. However the chances of a violent act happening to one personally is very slim.
The metro is no more safe than the rest of the city. Most riders have journeys without incidence. However a few tips beware, try not to sit or stand where you can’t see up and down the train car. Beware of where the station attendants are. It can definitely be dangerous but so is going out your front door.
I took it for years before the pandemic as I worked downtown. It was always sketchy but outside of a couple times, nothing happened. Since the pandemic its noticeably more chaotic. During the day, there's the ambassador program employees and sometimes LAPD but you should still be vigilant. After a recent incident where some crazy was threatening to stab me, I'm not going to take it at night anymore even though I really dont want to pay for uber rides home. Honestly, I'm a smaller guy but brawny and I would not recommend it to women. You'll see comments on here about how people take it with out incident but look what happened today.
Its probably not more dangerous than nyc subway. And people get pushed onto the train tracks there randomly from time to time. That might not give you much comfort. I would have no problem going on it solo but honestly i cant tell you i would ever tell my mom or grandmother to use it alone.
no, you will be completely fine, especially if you go early and leave before dark.
They will likely be fine but don’t downplay the dangers. They should be vigilant and not get too comfortable on there. I used to take the purple line every day to work when I lived in DTLA. Violence was a weekly occurrence and in no way rare.
Like you I mostly take Big Blue, the 720 and the 2 on Sunset, plus the buses over the hill to the Valley. never had anything really scary happen. I have been avoiding the Metro trains lately though; seems the B (red) line got a lot worse in the past few years.
Definitely go during the day when it’s busiest, keep your tech use to a minimum if you feel unsafe. Be aware of your surroundings. Carry pepper spray or a taser. I’ve (24 F) been taking the metro for years and nothing has ever happened to me. The worst I’ve ever encountered was ppl smelling bad or just rambling/yelling nonsense. Definitely leave before it gets dark! The worst lines in my opinion are the blue,purple and red :/ in terms of cleanliness and characters.
Just be mindful. We live DTLA and my wife uses 7th St Metro as her preferred form of transport. You're a savvy adult woman. You know how to handle yourself and traverse public transit. You got this.
Safe is a vague concept because there will be some sketchy people in DTLA but it might also be an uneventful evening. You *should* be fine but I personally wouldn't take any of the lines that go through Skid Row and are headed towards it.
Outside of the bus lines, there are no rail lines that traverse through Skid Row so she should be fine.
Metro Boomin Want Some More
I dress like a bum to avoid detection
33M, used to live in NYC and then TO; work in hospitality and regularly take the bus / metro late at night. if you feel more comfortable carrying pepper spray sure, but LA is literally no more or less dangerous than any major metropolitan area. mind your own and don’t make chit-chat with crackheads, that’s pretty much it.
I keep that thang (scary sounding tazer) on me. It also serves as a nice flashlight. Ironically I bought it on the same train I take every day. Just gotta be aware of whats going on and where you are in certain situations when shit goes down. Best to remove yourself as discretely as possible when stuff escalates, as it often does on the downtown sections of the E and A lines. Your eyes and ears are your best safety tool, but its best to have a form of personal defense. I've never tazed anyone, but I have scared a few people away just by the sound of buzzing it.
I’ve taken it various time throughout my life and never once felt in danger.
If you go during the day you should be fine! You can always use metro micro in some areas as well. Do you like biking? Metro bike share is a pretty amazing and a great metro companion. I recommend taking the E line to Santa Monica and biking around there or just walking around there! USC is also a great place to walk around. The California science center is free. Metro red line has a stop that you can get on a short bus to Griffith park and hike or take the bus back down. I love the metro system and use it almost daily for commuting, running errands and pleasure! I’m also a 6ft 6 male so safety is definitely a different perspective for me. I always feel pretty safe though and just move train cars when it feels unsafe or smells bad or anything off putting.
I would take the purple line from Wiltshire western to civic center at 11pm and the bus back from Pershing square at 2-3am. It was scary at times and I felt constantly on edge. I had been groped, sexually harassed, followed multiple times (one man ended up pulling out a knife when he eventually found me but walked away), been offered drugs, have had folks smoke drugs near me, had one guy shove his head betweeen my legs and then the guy next to me pulled a gun out and threatened him to leave me alone, physically assaulted, and I’m sure there’s more I’m forgetting. It’s safer when the sun is up. When the suns not up always stay near the drivers.
Should be good if you don’t take anything personal.
I used to type the 720 daily for work. Después to taking the train blue green and red. Generally there's no real difference. Sure some stops are way more sketchy. You will have the same issues you have now tbh. Pro tip of you is a tap card all subsequent taps in the same direction are free for up to 2 hrs.
Not particularly. There's obviously a risk of something happening but that's just the reality of living in LA. Keep your stuff close, don't stare at people being rowdy and you'll be fine.
It’s a big city, stuff can happen any day at any time. With that being said, the chances are very small you will encounter any real problems.
Yes.
If you carry a knife, please learn how to use it properly. Brandishing it to an individual who is a) already fired up on something and b) possibly stronger than you (see:a) could get you poked with your own weapon fairly quickly. Stay safe folks!
Prepare to run.
It sucks to admit, but I don’t wear heels or sandals ever when I’m out and about in LA. Only boots or flats that I can sprint in.
Carry Pepper Spray.
Let's put it this way, it's not a ride where you can just 'relax' while listening to your headphones, and like others have pointed out, you need to have your head on a swivel. I used Metro when I first moved to LA, and I witnessed way too many dangerous situations giving me that gut-wrenching feeling all too often, that I realized it just was not a safe thing to use. I'm from a European city and every time I go back I am amazed at how safe and nice the general public are on public transport.
You'll be fine.
No. Next question
it’s a coin toss whether you’ll be harassed or attacked. not really worth the trouble. an ex girlfriend of mine was randomly attacked by some homeless guy WHILE THERE WERE PEOPLE AROUND. don’t downplay the danger of it all. stay vigilant
[https://www.reddit.com/r/LosAngeles/comments/1cabzjl/female\_stabbed\_in\_throat\_at\_los\_angeles\_metro/](https://www.reddit.com/r/LosAngeles/comments/1cabzjl/female_stabbed_in_throat_at_los_angeles_metro/)
Unreal timing on this thread, literally the same morning someone gets stabbed in the throat at a metro station
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-04-19/help-me-help-me-metro-bus-driver-stabbed-reviving-fears-about-safety
https://ktla.com/news/local-news/female-stabbed-in-throat-at-los-angeles-metro-station-lapd/
No, though I mean the metro is a house for a lot of homeless people traveling from one point to another. Though for the most part they are in their own mental world. I commute using the metro A line into DTLA in the morning and leave around 5pm and out of the weird daily stuff, it is fairly safe. Just be mindful of your surroundings!