The Los Angeles Department of Transportation has quietly removed public service announcement videos that asked riders to refrain from defecating on city buses. The videos were part of a broader campaign called “See Something, Do Something” that addressed various behavioral issues on LADOT transit vehicles.
The campaign, which launched last year, featured six different videos urging riders to report disturbing behavior. According to the New York Post, the PSAs addressed smoking, drinking, fare evasion, loud music, and defecating on buses. The videos were housed on a standalone LADOT YouTube channel created in August 2025 and were not widely promoted across the agency’s other social media platforms.
Passengers complained that the ads ran continuously on loop during their bus rides, turning already difficult commutes into an ordeal. The campaign also instructed riders to report misconduct immediately, asking them to provide details such as route number, date, time, and descriptions of individuals involved.
LADOT’s code of conduct explicitly prohibits defecating, urinating, or vomiting on board vehicles. The rules also ban intoxication that could lead to such incidents. Violators can be removed from buses or denied service altogether.
The agency has not responded to questions about the campaign’s cost, what prompted its creation, or whether it produced measurable results. It also remains unclear how long the spots ran on buses before being pulled.
LADOT says riders can report any incident via their website, by email harassment@ladottransit.com, or by calling (213) 546-7066.
LADOT operates local DASH buses and Commuter Express services within Los Angeles city limits, separate from Metro, which manages regional rail and bus routes across Los Angeles County. The “See Something, Do Something” campaign appears to have been limited to LADOT vehicles and was not rolled out across Metro’s larger transit system.
Metro, the regional transit authority, reported that violent crime on its system dropped approximately eight percent in the first eleven months of 2025 compared to 2024. The agency has increased staffing by roughly forty percent over two years and implemented enhanced security measures, including more than 400,000 fare inspections and expanded camera coverage.
Recent Comments