An experiment that places greeters wearing bright green T-shirts, and who carry maps, cell phones and a friendly demeanor in trains, buses and transit stations in LA Metro’s vast system, could become permanent.
The LA Metro Transit Ambassadors — a first for the county transit agency — started 13 months ago as a pilot program. It was created as an alternative option to armed enforcement of fare jumpers after the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis by police spurred nationwide protests demanding law enforcement reform.
The ambassadors were set to provide directions, wayfinding and navigation to 115 miles of rails and 117 bus routes for one to three years. Created in September 2023, the program which has outsourced contracts to two, third-party companies who hire the workers, could become a division within Metro — with as many as 350 current ambassadors being rehired as Metro employees with full benefits.
The action will be considered by the Metro Board of Directors at its monthly meeting on Thursday, Oct. 26, beginning at 10 a.m.
Ambassadors have had 502,656 interactions with riders beyond just a greeting, according to data from October 2022 through September of this year, Metro reported. Face-to-face interactions with riders increased during that period by 256% when compared to about 175,000 visits to Metro’s Customer Service Centers during that same time period.
They’ve also reported 1,994 safety-related incidents on Metro’s Transit Watch App and made 655 phone calls to 911 or to Metro’s operations center.
“These interactions convey to customers that assistance is readily available for any needs they may have, thereby helping alleviate potential anxieties or concerns they might have about riding the system,” the staff report concluded.
Fabian Bolanos, who has been an ambassador for a little more than a year, said the latest phase includes helping people overdosing on opioids on trains, buses and station platforms. Ambassadors were trained and equipped with Narcan, a nasal spray that reverses the effects of an overdose and restores breathing.
“I’ve done 14 Narcan revivals now,” Bolanos said on Tuesday, Oct. 24, out of 52 in total for the team.
“You see people smoking fentanyl, or hanging out. If there’s not too many of them, I will tell them ‘You can’t be here,’ ” Bolanos said. More often, he’ll flag down an LAPD officer or Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputy. If no officer is around, he’ll call the Metro rail operations center who will dispatch help.
Bolanos led a failed effort to unionize the ambassadors working for Strive Well-Being Inc. in June. The workers had asked to join Metro and build seniority so they can be in line for Metro jobs. Those outcomes, plus job security and health and retirement benefits, would be included in a shift to Metro employees.
“I brought up these things that were very real then. (With a board vote to join Metro), this would phase out two contract companies and eliminate the third party,” Bolanos said.
Bolanos and many of his fellow ambassadors plan to address the board in support of the in-house proposal. The board will vote on whether to let CEO Stephanie Wiggins make the program permanent, a transition that could take up to 12 months.
Former Los Angeles City Councilmember and Metro board member Mike Bonin remembers the discussions about starting an unarmed team of ambassadors to soften the reputation that some LAPD officers and sheriff deputies had for arresting a disproportionate number of Black and Latino riders for fare-evasion. “Most of what can be done by law enforcement can be done by someone else,” Bonin said on Wednesday.
The proposal is backed by ACT-LA, a group that wants to see less reliance on armed law enforcement. Bonin and Metro formed the Public Safety Advisory Committee. It suggested using some of the money from law enforcement to start an unarmed ambassadors program.
“Having eyes and ears and a warm face added to the agency helps people feel safer,” Bonin said. “I’ve seen it in Philadelphia and Denver.” Metro reported 11 other transit agencies have similar ambassador programs, including those two, as well as those in New York City, Chicago, Atlanta, Boston, Seattle and the Bay Area.
A Metro survey found that 63% of respondents said seeing an ambassador made them feel safer.
Bart Reed, executive director of The Transit Coalition, a nonprofit group based in the San Fernando Valley that supports public transit, said he was at the North Hollywood B (Red) Line station and the escalators were broken. He told an ambassador, who called in to Metro operations. “When we got back they were working,” he said.
Reed said adding ambassadors to law enforcement and Metro Transit Security helps people feel at ease. Riding transit can make people feel alone and vulnerable. “So when there is someone there you can speak to, you are not there alone. It makes a tremendous difference,” Reed said.
In the survey, many asked for more ambassadors, saying they don’t see them on every line or route, and to expand into late night and early morning. Ambassadors work from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekends. Some said they need to spend less time talking among themselves.
Metro has spent $23.5 million on the program through Aug. 30. About $20 million is budgeted in the 2023-2024 fiscal year budget, according to the staff report.