As someone from the suburbs, taking the LA Bus and metro was a culture shock. Most UCLA students don’t have a car due to the difficulty of getting a parking pass, but we’re still able to get around LA.
Since the TAP card is free, public transportation is a lifesaver in comparison to taking an Uber or a Lyft, but there is a cost. I surveyed a group of UCLA students and here are some of their (and my) craziest eyewitness experiences and videos from using the LA bus and metro!
woman touched my hair on la bus in Hollywood
“After Ubering to Hollywood at 5AM and hiking up to the Hollywood sign for the sunrise, my friend and I decided to take the bus back. We were exhausted and on our first bus back, and a woman on the other side of the bus, sitting three rows in front of us started yelling at my friend, “Do you believe in God” and pressured her to answer more questions.”
“Due to her harsh persistence, my friend eventually responded and then she engaged in a conversation with her. She turned around and saw me sitting next to her in the window seat and she got out of her seat and sat in the seat right in front of me. She does a 180 and sits turned around, facing me. She says, “You have beautiful hair” and reaches over and strokes my hair. She says, “You need to oil it and maintain it” and then asks me “Do you believe in God?” She looked down at my lap and noticed that my tote bag had my name on it, Victoria (it’s not actually Victoria lol); she then said in an eery voice, “Victoria, we will meet again”. After a couple of minutes, she moved back to her original seat, and my friend and I got out of the bus at the next stop.”
met sza
“My friends and I were at the wrong bus stop and missed the bus that was supposed to take us to Melrose. We had to wait an extra 15 minutes for the next one and we finally made it to the Melrose Trading Post and met SZA as we entered. If we didn’t miss that bus I don’t think we would have met her.”
live performance on la metrolink train
“We took the LA Metrolink train back on my way from Downtown LA. I was with a group of three people and we all sat at the back of the train. Suddenly, a man came onto the train with a large guitar and his dog. He started giving his spiel and most people moved to the other side of the bus. My friends and I were behind this man, so moving would have been awkward. He sang his original song for around three minutes. His dog started barking loudly at the end of the performance and a woman began shouting at the dog to be quiet.”
A video of a short clip of this experience was also linked.
forced to evacuate
“Someone peed on the bus, so this created a hazard. We all had to evacuate and wait for another bus to arrive.”
belt into a demi lovato song on pch
“On the PCH, a man started screeching and screaming a song. I struggled to make out the words and I thought he was singing an original song. After he left, my friend told me he was singing the song “29” by Demi Lovato.”
A video of a short clip of this experience was also linked.
bus left us outside of Westfield century city
“It was 8pm, dark, and cold. My friend and I were desperate to get back to UCLA after being denied into an early screening that we had tickets for and later purchasing an overpriced cup of frozen yogurt at Yogurtland. To make a bad day worse, the bus we needed to take back to UCLA passed us even though it saw us. The next bus was coming an hour later, so we had to Uber back.”
fight for seat
“The craziest thing I’ve seen while using the LA metro train system was two people physically fighting over a seat.”
hit on by older man in Hollywood
“My first time using public transportation by myself was an experience, to say the least. First, I almost accidentally boarded the wrong bus and went to USC. Then, when I was waiting at a bench, I had an interesting encounter. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a man who was maybe around 35 walking towards me on the crosswalk. He approached me and said, “I figured it’s a long shot but I thought I’d give you my card.” “Oh…for your business?” I asked, confused. “No I don’t talk to random hot girls for business purposes,” he replied. I was shocked. “Call me I’d love to get together with you.” “Thanks, but I’m a little young,” I replied. “How old are you if you don’t mind me asking?” he asked. I probably should’ve tried to end the conversation, but I didn’t want to upset him, so I replied “19.” “That’s not too young! If you had said 16 I’d have to run for the hills. You’re legal at least! Call me, I’d love to get in touch with you.” He then handed me his card and walked away. I was still processing the encounter just 10 minutes later another guy drove by and pointed at me and yelled “You’re a cutie!!” My bus came soon after that. I looked up the first guy’s name and on Zillow; it said “No sales in the last 12 months.”
man touched a woman’s baby
“There was a time when my roommate and I were getting on the bus to LMU, and the bus was packed with people. But this middle-aged man was sitting next to another man; I’m assuming they don’t know each other because when the older man kept touching the other man, he was told to stop. But then there was a young mother with a baby sitting behind the two. And after the younger man kept telling the older man to stop, the older man started looking at the baby. He then started touching and whispering to the baby. The young mother didn’t seem to know what to do, and just faced the other way, letting this older man continue to touch the baby. After this had occurred for about five minutes, a lady at the back of the bus started yelling at the man in Spanish to stop. The man just brushed it away and kept nodding. With that, the bus driver pulled over on the side of the street and told the older man to get off the bus, and thankfully he did.”
nearly run over by 12-year-old boys
“Kids on dirt bikes nearly ran me over on the way to the bus stop to go to Target. It was time for the pedestrians to cross and I waited a few seconds just to be safe. Suddenly, I see two dirt bikes rushing towards me. I see two boys that could not have been over twelve on each dirt bike. They screamed “Watch it!” and I saw my life flash before my eyes.”
man kicked off of the bus in Beverly Hills
“My friends and I took two buses, so we were getting tired. On the final bus back to UCLA, we sat in the back and tried to relax. A man had a grey fluffy blanket wrapped around his body in the style of Little Red Riding Hood. He started screaming offensive terms and slurs out loud. People started to get off the bus one by one. The bus driver stopped the bus and said “You are offending people and making them get off the bus. You need to get off” and the man responded with “I am not offending anyone and I am not getting off the bus.” The driver waited a minute and the man didn’t get off, so he drove the bus again. The man began screaming even louder and started rocking back and forth. After 10 minutes, the bus driver stopped the bus again and said “You need to get off of the bus now or I am calling the police.” The man refused, so the bus driver exited the bus and went outside to make a call. After seeing this, the man finally left. I am very grateful for the courageous bus driver.”
pole dancing on the train
“While taking the train, a guy came on and blasted music. He then used the poles on the train to dance and perform like a stripper.”
i was screamed at outside of Westwood chick-fil-a
“While waiting for the Metro 2 bus outside Chick-Fil-A, an older woman was on the bench with her friend. My friends and I decided to stand nearby. She began screaming “You can’t go to UCLA unless you feed the birds.”
good luck!
After reading about these experiences, I hope you feel more prepared to tackle the unexpected on LA public transportation. LA is a beautiful city, so don’t let these experiences scare you from exploring. Good luck!