Los Angeles’ public transit agency has restocked a viral t-shirt design that sold out almost immediately upon its release earlier this year.
On Wednesday, LA Metro announced that it had a new fresh batch of its popular “Ride the D” t-shirts, which promotes the upcoming D Line subway extension opening next month. The t-shirts became an overnight sensation and a hot commodity when they were released earlier this year after an online groundswell of support—primarily on the LA Metro subreddit.
But Wednesday’s drop also included some other limited-time gear following a similar motif.
Among them, a shirt promoting the other L.A. subway, the B Line, reads “Let it B,” with the same font and spacing as the original D Line equivalent.
Los Angeles’ light-rail lines also received the t-shirt treatment, albeit less risque, with shirts that read “A List Ride,” “C You Later,” “Explore the E,” and “K is the Culture.”
LA Metro’s bus rapid transit lines, G and J, now have shirts that say “Ride like a G” and “Just take the J,” respectively.
Although the new t-shirts are a welcome addition for transit fans who want to support and promote the LA Metro system, it’ll be incredibly difficult to recapture the magic of the original “Ride the D” merch drop, which arose organically through the collective effervescence of its most ardent supporters.
Still, you shouldn’t be surprised to see some of these new shirts on the streets or on buses or on trains in the near future. Transit nerds, myself included, love any excuse to talk about public transportation options.
When will the D Line extension open?
The D Line Subway Extension Project will add nine miles of underground tracks with seven new Metro stations along its route from downtown Los Angeles to the Westside. Section 1 will add new stations on Wilshire Boulevard at La Brea, Fairfax, and La Cienega, ultimately connecting Mid-Wilshire and the Miracle Mile to downtown L.A. and Koreatown.
It’s a multi-tiered project, with extensions being completed and opened by piecemeal. The first extension is set to open next month on May 8. It was originally slated to open to the public in late-2025, but was pushed back to 2026 after testing proved to be a bit more complicated than expected.
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Section 2 of the subway extension project is 2.6 miles and will include new stations on Beverly Drive and in Century City. That segment is planned to open in spring 2027.
The final third section, which is 2.56 miles and will create an end-of-the-line station at the Westwood/VA Hospital near Sawtelle is also tentatively scheduled to open in the fall of 2027.
Although the delays were aggravating for many, the concrete opening date, as well as the release of this commemorative gear, seems to have soothed most of the public’s frustration, especially as it’s expected to open with time to spare before the 2026 FIFA World Cup. With the Summer Olympics and Paralympics coming to town in 2028, any increased connectivity and improved transit options will be a welcome sight.
Maybe even the long-awaited LAX People Mover will be open by then. Although betting on that is a risky proposition.
To see the full line of LA Metro’s new line-specific clothing, click here.
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