Allyssa Lemos sits comfortably in the air-conditioned train on Metro Expo line, phone in hand and earbuds snuggly plugged into her ears, blocking out the noise of the train. She is only four stops away from home.  

“I have been riding the trains my entire life,” said the 22-year-old native Angeleno.  

Her usual route between work and home is from the Culver City station to the Expo/Crenshaw station The Expo Line is also the train she usually takes to go around the city.  

“You get to places faster. It takes only 10 minutes back and forth,” Lemos said of her work commute “It’s a lot faster.”  

Counter to often-reported safety concerns around L.A.’s public transportation, Lemos evaluates positively her years-long experience on the trains: “I think it is awesome.”   Aside from occasional incidents, Lemos rarely enocounters trouble while riding the trains. She remembers one instance when a homeless man boarded the train that she took to go home. The man refused to leave, so the train had to stop and wait for security to come and force him out. But, Lemos said occasions like that have been rare in her experience.

“A lot of the times, [the train] is not watched by security. Sometimes [homeless people] cause problems, sometimes they don’t,” Lemos said.  

READ MORE: Expo Line Train Hits Car, 21 Injured

Though Lemos isn’t too concerned about her safety aboard Metro trains, her family  is less at ease.  

“My mom [said], ‘I need to know you are safe on the train” Lemos said.

To free her family and herself from worries, they send text messages to each other when Lemos is riding public transportation. “Just to tell them, hey, I am on the train now. You can text me later or during the ride to make sure I am safe,” she explained.

Lemos currently does not own a car, nor does she plan on buying one in the near future, and said she really relies on the Metro train system.  

The Expo Line, which currently runs between Culver City and downtown L.A., is in the second phase of a  construction plan that will extend the line westbound to Santa Monica. Lemos is looking forward to the opening date that is scheduled for early 2016.

“It should be a lot of fun, [it] should be helpful to a lot of people,” the frequent rider predicted.

Reach contributor Stephanie Wu here.