300 transit ambassadors become new sets of eyes and ears for LA Metro

With violent crime on LA Metro’s transit system up 24% in 2022, and riders dying from drug overdoses also skyrocketing, the massive transit agency on Monday, March 6 deployed 300 “transit ambassadors” as part of a softer, gentler approach to boost public safety on buses and trains and at stations.

Wearing green polo shirts with the words: “Support. Connect. Report” stamped in capital letters, these young men and women are part travel guide, part transit host, who report crime and drug use to law enforcement, connect the unhoused to Metro’s homeless crisis teams and alert the custodial staff about messes and litter.

They are armed only with iPads and cell phones, no firearms or weapons. Beside reporting crime and grime, they help riders find the nearest bus or train and show them how to pay their fares via Metro’s TAP card system.

One ambassador on Monday was asked why the Little Tokyo/Arts District L (Gold) Line station is still closed and riders must instead take a bus to continue to East Los Angeles or north to Union Station. The Little Tokyo rail station has been closed for almost three years to make room for the new Regional Connector rail, which has been plagued by delays due to testing irregularities.

The ambassador concept, made popular by San Francisco’s Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART), is also a move by the Metro board away from use of law enforcement to bust riders who don’t pay their fares or commit other infractions. The board found that a disproportionate number of Black and Latino riders were being cited.

“We can improve public safety without the unnecessary risk of over-policing,” said Second District Los Angeles County Supervisor and Metro Board member Holly Mitchell in remarks to the ambassadors and VIPs at the  kickoff in Union Station’s ticket hall.

CEO Stephanie Wiggins mentioned the overwhelming outcry from riders. About 89% of survey respondents said they wanted more Metro staff on board buses and trains. Ridership by women has dropped recently, while male ridership increased.

“We know that an increased presence can help women feel more safe,” Wiggins said. And 85% said Metro should put more staff on trains, platforms and buses to address the growing number of unhoused people loitering or using the trains as mobile shelters and places to sleep.

“If they (customers) know someone is empowered to report things, that may be a deterrent in itself,” Wiggins said in an interview Monday.

But as customer surveys show, you don’t have to be a trained transit ambassador to report a crime. Riders can anonymously report any suspicious activity using LA Metro’s Transit Watch app.

Julia Coursey, who was riding the L (Gold) Line Monday said she has witnessed riders doing drugs. “One person said to the other one: ‘This is a weird thing to do when we are on ‘shrooms,’” she recounted while her southbound train approached Lake Avenue station, located in the middle of the 210 Freeway in Pasadena.

“I once saw two guys doing crack, smoking crack, in the elevator here,” she said, pointing to the station’s elevator. “But they didn’t seem aggressive.”

Wiggins said the ambassadors are part of a multi-layered, public safety approach that includes LAPD officers, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputies, Transit Security Officers (TSOs) and the agency’s homeless outreach teams. The ambassadors can be smiling faces and also 300 pairs of eyes and ears to report wrongdoing on seven rail lines, 2,200 buses and 100 micro-transit vans that together account for 800,000 boardings a day.

“To be clear, ambassadors are not security officers. They are not replacing existing security staff or law enforcement,” said Glendale Mayor and LA Metro Board chair Ara Najarian. “Their role is more nuanced; more customer-centric.”

Most ambassadors come with experience to handle a broad array of issues that play out on Metro’s public transit system. Two ambassadors took turns performing CPR on someone who was riding on the D (Purple) Line, Mitchell said.

About 60 ambassadors were deployed as part of a soft launch six months ago on the new K Line in Crenshaw and on the D and B lines. Ambassadors can also be found on the A Line to Long Beach, L Line from L.A. to Pasadena and along the foothill communities of the San Gabriel Valley, plus the following bus lines: 20, 720, 40, 210 and J (Silver).

The contract is for $123 million for five years. Ambassadors will be deployed seven days a week, Najarian said. Wiggins said the first few years of the pilot program will employ about 300 people. She indicated it was difficult to fill those jobs due to job candidate shortages.

Ambassador Erica Moton said she’s familiar with mental health issues and the unhoused, having worked in a nonprofit that sheltered women and children who were homeless. “If you have experience within your own community, you can reach out to others,” she said.

Ari Silva likes the job because it fits his lifestyle as a non-driving, train-loving, Google maps aficionado from Los Angeles. “If I go into a new area, I have people telling me, ‘Hey, this is a good food spot,’” he said.

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