“Metro HotCars is here to turn up the heat on your love life,” reads the website for Metro HotCars, a new dating site that purports to be from the transit agency. “Seeking that special someone to share a SmartBenefits card with?”

It looks legit—-it has the same logo and website footer as Metro’s site. But Metro HotCars, named after the nickname for Metro cars without air conditioning in the summer, is actually the parody creation of designer Kyle Conrad.

Conrad’s mock dating turns the transit system’s flaws into romantic opportunities. Unreliable train schedules translate to more time to make a move, while broken escalators make would-be Casanovas sweatier.

Conrad, an Arlington resident, was inspired by Metro critics like @unsuckdcmetro talking about hot cars. “I just thought it sounded like a bad dating site,” Conrad writes in an email.

While Conrad’s site has been a hit on Twitter, Metro isn’t thrilled. “We are reviewing our legal options,” Metro spokesman Dan Stessel writes in an email.

Photo by Darrow Montgomery