Efforts to curb the rise in violence on Metro buses and trains across the county were a central theme of Metro’s annual “State of the Agency” address on Wednesday. Bass, who is completing his first year as board chair, led the speech along with Metro CEO Stephanie Wiggins.
“When you use public transportation, we want to make sure everyone is safe,” Bass said in his speech.
Superintendent Janice Hahn also attended and will replace Bass as the new chair. As the new chair, Hahn said she will be using Metro transit more frequently to get a better sense of riders’ needs. “At the board meeting, I’m going to talk about my experiences as a Metro rider, and that means calling out the problems I see and giving credit to the things that go well,” Hahn said.
Wednesday’s presentation highlighted future public safety models, including the Los Angeles Metro Board’s decision to create its own police force to patrol the county-wide transit system, including bus and rail lines in Boyle Heights and East Los Angeles. The Metro police force would be deployed over the next five years.
“We’ve settled a decades-long debate by moving forward with the creation of a new transportation safety department to keep everyone safe and taking decisive action to change law enforcement on our subway system,” Bass said.
The change was prompted by several stabbings and shootings since the beginning of the year. Despite safety concerns, Metro has seen an 18-month rise in ridership, including on weekends and during leisure trips.
Wiggins said Metro’s new approach to public safety will take into account the mental health of riders. “Our communities are struggling with record levels of homelessness, untreated mental illness and addiction,” Wiggins said. “These issues are at the root of our public safety challenges and we must address them compassionately and effectively.”
Other planned changes include progress on projects under construction, such as the addition of bus lanes, the Airport Metro Connector, the Purple (D) Line extension and “major” planned milestones for the East San Fernando Valley Line, North San Fernando Valley Line and Southeast Gateway Line.
Metro officials also noted the decision to make the Metro Ambassador and GoPass pilot programs permanent.
