Meeting_Body
OPERATIONS, SAFETY AND CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE COMMITTEE
FEBRUARY 15, 2024
Subject
SUBJECT: MEMBERSHIP ON METRO’S SAN GABRIEL VALLEY SERVICE COUNCIL
Action
ACTION: APPROVE RECOMMENDATION
Heading
RECOMMENDATION
Title
APPROVE nominee for membership on Metro’s San Gabriel Valley Service Council.
Issue
ISSUE
Each Metro Service Council (MSC) is comprised of nine Representatives who serve terms of three years; terms are staggered so that the terms of three of each Council’s nine members expire annually on June 30. Incumbent Representatives can serve additional terms if re-nominated by the nominating authority and confirmed by the Metro Board.
The San Gabriel Valley Service Council has a vacancy created by a Councilmember who recently resigned.
Background
BACKGROUND
Metro Service Councils were created in 2002 as community-based bodies tasked with improving bus service and promoting service coordination with municipal and local transit providers. The MSC bylaws specify that Representatives should live in, work in, or represent the region; have a basic working knowledge of public transit service within their region, and an understanding of passenger transit needs. To do so, each Representative is expected to ride at least one transit service per month.
The MSCs are responsible for convening public hearings to receive community input on proposed service modifications, rendering decisions on proposed bus route changes, and considering staff’s recommendations and public comments. All route and major service changes that are approved by the MSCs will be brought to the Metro Board of Directors as an information item. Should the Metro Board decide to move an MSC-approved service change to an Action Item, the MSCs will be notified of this change before the next Service Council monthly meeting.
Discussion
DISCUSSION
The individual listed below has been nominated to serve on the San Gabriel Valley Service Council by the vacant seat’s nominating authority. If approved by the Board, this appointment will serve for the remainder of the three-year term specified below. A brief listing of qualifications and the nomination letter for the new nominee are provided in Attachments A and B.
For reference, the 2021 American Community Survey demographics and 2022 Metro Ridership Survey demographics for each region are compared to the membership, should this nominee be appointed.
San Gabriel Valley Service Council Nominee
A. Roberto Álvarez, New Appointment
Nominated by: Fifth District Supervisor Kathryn Barger
Term: July 1, 2022 - June 30, 2025
The gender makeup of the San Gabriel Valley Cities Service Council will be as follows:
Determination_Of_Safety_Impact
DETERMINATION OF SAFETY IMPACT
Maintaining the full complement of representatives on each Service Council to represent each service area is important, as each Representative is required to regularly use public transit, and each Council is composed of people from diverse areas and backgrounds. This enables each Council to better understand the needs of transit riders including the need for safe operation of transit service and safe location of bus stops.
Equity_Platform
EQUITY PLATFORM
Metro seeks to appoint Service Council members who represent the diverse needs and priorities reflective of the demographics of each respective region. To encourage nominating authorities to nominate individuals who will closely reflect the region and its ridership, staff shares regional ridership, resident, and Service Council membership race/ethnicity, and gender demographics with each nomination request. This practice has resulted in the Service Councils becoming much more diverse in terms of both race/ethnicity and gender over the last several years. Gender equity is critically important for Service Council representation, given the unique transit needs and experiences women have, and there is still work that needs to be done to achieve gender equity on all of the Service Councils. Outreach will be performed to nominating authorities for future SGV Service Council vacancies. These practices will be implemented in an effort to more closely match the demographics to that of the region and its ridership. Staff will continue to share demographic information and encourage nominating authorities to improve gender equity through their appointments as opportunities arise Race/ethnicity and sex/gender information for the other four Service Council regions is provided for comparison.
* The Gateway Cities Service Council currently has two vacancies. The Westside Central Service Council currently has one vacancy.
**Taken from 2022 Census Quick Facts; Census data includes a question that intends to capture current sex; there are no questions about gender, sexual orientation, or sex at birth.
Implementation_of_Strategic_Plan_Goals
IMPLEMENTATION OF STRATEGIC PLAN GOALS
Approval of this recommendation supports the following Metro Strategic Plan Goal: 30 Enhance communities and lives through mobility and access to opportunity.
Alternatives_Considered
ALTERNATIVES CONSIDERED
The alternative to the recommendation would be for this nominee to not be approved for appointment. To do so would result in reduced effectiveness of the Service Councils, as it would increase the difficulty of obtaining the quorum necessary to allow this Service Council to formulate and submit their recommendations to the Board. It would also result in the Service Councils having a less diverse representation of their respective service areas.
Next_Steps
NEXT STEPS
Staff will continue to monitor the major contributors to the quality of bus service from the customer’s perspective and share that information with the Service Councils for use in their work to plan, implement, and improve bus service and the customer experience in their areas.
Attachments
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A - New Appointee Nomination Letter
Attachment B - New Appointee Biography and Qualifications
Prepared_by
Prepared by: Dolores Ramos, Senior Manager, Regional Service Councils, (213) 922-1210
Reviewed_By
Reviewed by: Conan Cheung, Chief Operations Officer, (213) 418-3034
