“I almost feel like I’m rediscovering LA,” Julianna, who posts under the handle “Hot Girl Transit” on social media, says of her recent foray into the city’s public transit system.
asserted
who → feel → system
Sign up for the California Morning Report newsletter
The biggest news, opinion and culture shaping California right now.
Thanks for signing up!
asserted
Sign → sign → California
While Metro does set aside funds for influencer marketing, both the influencers quoted in this story confirmed they are not on the Metro’s payroll.
asserted
they → set → payroll
The influencer has lived in Los Angeles for 18 years, but she took the city’s public transit system for the time ever in June after her car’s engine died.
asserted
engine → live → June
“It’s incredible where the train and the bus can take you.
asserted
train → ’ → you
It really can take you all over town.
asserted
It → take → town
I just started discovering new communities, new art spaces, third spaces, new places to eat, and it’s been really awesome,”
asserted
it → start → communities
says Julianna.
asserted
Julianna → say → ?
She excitedly shared her journey taking public transit on TikTok, where her videos now net thousands of views and hundreds of comments.
asserted
videos → share → comments
“I filmed one video, and it was me going to K-Town, and it kind of did well, and I got some really nice comments, and people were giving me recommendations, like ‘Oh, next time try this place or try this line.'”
asserted
people → film → line
Now, she takes the bus and train from her home in West Hollywood to places all over the city.
asserted
she → take → city
After surviving in LA for four months without a car, she says there’s no turning back.
asserted
she → survive → car
“Could I get another car right now?
uncertain
I → get → car
Sure, but I would be stressed out,” says Julianna.
asserted
Julianna → stress → ?
“I don’t want to deal with the gas prices.
asserted
I → want → prices
I don’t want to deal with the lease,” she continued.
asserted
she → want → lease
“There’s no world where I’m gonna sit in 40 minutes of traffic on the way to downtown when I can get there in 17 minutes and not worry about parking.
asserted
I → ’ → parking
But she says she’s not anti-car.
asserted
she → say → ?
“I’m never one to say ‘get rid of your car’, but people should have mixed use and try it out.”
asserted
people → ’m → it
The LA Metro system, which spans 165 bus routes and 6 rail lines, has a reputation among Angelenos for being unreliable, unsafe, and dirty.
asserted
which → span → Angelenos
“I think most Angelenos ignore Metro,” Juan Matute, deputy director of the UCLA Institute of Transportation Studies told the California Post in June.
asserted
Matute → think → June
“People are still figuring out what it means to them — and so we’re very much in this transitional period in LA of what transit means to the city.
asserted
transit → figure → city
But the system is the safest its been in years, with violent crime falling 6.7% in 2025 compared with 2024, its lowest level since 2021.
asserted
crime → fall → 2021
Ridership is also up, with weekday ridership growing 8.4% from June 2025 to 2026, according to LA Metro.
uncertain
ridership → grow → Metro
Still, it can prove a rough ride for many who have experienced some horrors and genuine safety issues on board.
asserted
who → prove → board
The agency has made a concerted effort to get drivers out of their cars and on the Metro.
asserted
agency → make → Metro
In August, they launched the second phase of their One Car Challenge pilot program, which pays eligible LA County households up to $600 if they agree not to use one of their vehicles for five weeks and rely only on public transit, biking, walking, or carpooling to get around.
asserted
they → launch → transit
In May, the D line expanded west with three new stops through Mid-City.
uncertain
line → expand → City
The line will continue expanding with new stops opening in Beverly Drive and Century City in Spring 2027, and to Westwood in Fall 2027.
asserted
line → expand → Fall
While Julianna’s videos get plenty of love, she also gets her fair share of skeptics.
asserted
she → get → skeptics
“I love public transportation, but it must be done with a lot of caution.
asserted
it → love → caution
A lot goes down in the subways!” one commenter warned.
asserted
commenter → go → subways
“If you only knew what really happens in the Metro and buses.
asserted
what → know → Metro
Oh well,” another said.
asserted
another → say → ?
The transit system is also attractive to transplants like Celine Milien, a native New Yorker who moved to LA a year ago without a car.
asserted
who → move → car
“I like just being able to be free and travel,” says Milien, an actress who lives in Downtown LA and often commutes to Studio City for gigs.
asserted
who → travel → gigs
She’s now spreading the transit gospel to everyone she knows.
asserted
she → spread → everyone
“I have roommates that have cars, and I’ve made them take the bus with me,” says Milien, who says she’s never been paid to promote the Metro.
asserted
she → have → Metro
“They’re like, “Wait, actually, that wasn’t that bad.
asserted
that → ’re → ?
And I’m like, “Exactly.”
asserted
I → ’m → ?
…and 20 more, not listed.
The Aporia
