Attempts to curb increased violence on Metro buses and trains throughout the county were at the forefront of Metro’s annual ‘State of the Agency’ address Wednesday. Bass, who completed her first-year term as chair of the board of directors, led the event with Metro CEO Stephanie Wiggins.
“If you are on transit, we want everyone to be safe,” Bass said during the address.
Supervisor Janice Hahn was also present and will succeed Bass as the new chair. As the new chair, Hahn said she will use Metro transportation more often to better assess riders’ needs. “At our board meetings, I’m going to talk about what I experienced as a Metro rider. That will mean calling out problems I see and praising the things that go right,” Hahn said.
Wednesday’s presentation highlighted the future public safety model. This includes the LA Metro Board of Directors’ decision to establish its own police force to patrol the countywide transit system, which includes bus and train lines in Boyle Heights and East L.A. The Metro Police Force will be rolled out over the next five years.
“We settled decades of debate by acting decisively to change law enforcement on the Metro system by moving forward with creating a new Transit safety department to keep everyone safe,” Bass said.
This change comes amid several stabbings and shootings that have occurred since the beginning of the year. Despite safety concerns, Metro has experienced 18 months of ridership growth, including on weekends and with leisure riders.
Wiggins said that Metro’s new approach to public safety will take into account riders’ mental health. “Our region is contending with historic levels of homelessness, untreated mental illness and addiction,” Wiggins said. “These issues lie at the core of our public safety challenges, and we must address them compassionately and effectively.”
Other planned changes include the addition of bus lanes and progress on projects under construction, including the Airport Metro Connector, the Purple (D) Line extension and “major” planning milestones on the East San Fernando Valley Line, North San Fernando Valley Line and the Southeast Gateway Line.
Metro officials also spotlighted the decisions to make the Metro Ambassador and GoPass pilot programs permanent.
