There’s a new conversation happening on the LA commute.
Fresh off earning its first Emmy nomination, New York City’s hit social media interview series “SubwayTakes” has officially gotten the Los Angeles treatment.
The parody, dubbed “Transit Takes,” swaps bustling train platforms for one of LA’s most recognizable landmarks: bumper-to-bumper gridlock.
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Instead of chasing straphangers between subway stops, interviewer Chris Tcholakian leans into open car windows, chatting with passengers riding in the back seats while drivers unload about life in the City of Angels.
Among the distinctly LA complaints is one driver who passionately argues that “everyone forgets how to drive the second it sprinkles two drops of rain” across Southern California.
The sketch also skewers the city’s transit woes, taking aim at the Orange Line, the concept of making “transfers” in Los Angeles and the recently expanded Metro D Line.
One recurring gag compares driving from Silver Lake to Mid-Wilshire to traveling from Bushwick to Midtown in New York — a tongue-in-cheek reminder of just how sprawling Los Angeles really is.
The parody also pokes fun at the D Line‘s $9.7 billion, decades-long construction project, unreliable train arrival times and the city’s long history of transportation planning missteps, while riffing on the marathon trek to destinations like LACMA and the never-ending eastside-versus-westside rivalry.
As traffic threatens to finally start moving, Tcholakian desperately yells to one driver, “Take this alleyway!”
The moment is instantly cut short when another exasperated motorist stuck behind them bellows, “Go around!…F–k!”
The sketch quickly sparked reactions online.
One movie buff pushed back after a driver complained about movie dates, writing: “Insane opinion, the beautiful art of the 90 minute Hollywood blockbuster has been lost.”
Posted to Instagram on Friday, the parody has resonated with viewers by translating the frantic spirit of New York’s subway culture into a uniquely Los Angeles experience.