Go Undercover With The Metro Mole

Note my play on the MTA’s “Go Metro” marketing campaign. Now multiply that sort of wit by a thousand and you get the idea of what you are dealing with when you read the insights of the Metro Mole. I’ve had a link to the Metro Mole’s blog over in the Transit Links section since this site’s inception, and I’m sure many of you have checked it out, but for those who haven’t, this is the time.

Just who is the Metro Mole? No one knows for sure. This anonymous creature, who may or may not work for the LACMTA, is the author of a blog simply called “LACMTA Comments” at a BlogSpot URL with the subdomain “lametromole”. The blog is sparse on extraneous information, with the simple sentence, “A critique of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transit Authority’s management and operations,” summing up its purpose. And critique he does. But the difference between the Mole’s critiques versus others that rant and complain about the MTA’s service is that the Metro Mole is informed. Incredibly informed. Reading a blog post by the Mole is a number of things, but first and foremost it’s always a learning experience. The guy (or gal) is one of those people (like our very own Wad) who knows so much about the inner workings of our transit bureaucracy that it truly makes the lowly transit rider feel like nothing but a pawn being pushed around in toy trains by invisible forces so much greater than us that they reside in castles in the sky. Or perhaps castles above Union Station… the “Taj Mahal”, as the Mole jokingly calls the Metro Headquarters Building due to its architectural excesses in the face of dwindling finances. Regardless, the Metro Mole is the place to go for the uniformed to get informed, especially thanks to his thoughtful usage of footnotes on every post.

Beyond the fact that the Mole knows his shit, his posts are also some of the most entertaining in the blogosphere. A typical Mole post adheres to a format, starting with “The mole reads the papers so you don’t have to” followed by “The mole rides again so you don’t have to.” The first category usually involves commentary on the latest news involving the MTA, with the Mole taking an informative but mocking tone to the typical bafoonery brought on by either the MTA or the news makers themselves. The latter category involes a hyperbolic first person account of the oft nightmarish experience that is riding public transit in Los Angeles. You’ll do most of your LOLing in this section. The Mole shows no mercy, making fun of the entire experience: from cell phone addicted bus drivers and nail clipping riders to the slum-like stations where bird-flu and global warming come together in an apocalyptic vision that puts Blade Runner to shame. Really, this guy should write a book. But until the happens, check out his blog and enjoy one of LA transit culture’s great commentators.