Meeting_Body
OPERATIONS, SAFETY AND CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE COMMITTEE
APRIL 17, 2025
Subject
SUBJECT: APPOINTMENT TO METRO SAN GABRIEL VALLEY SERVICE COUNCIL
Action
ACTION: APPROVE RECOMMENDATION
Heading
RECOMMENDATION
Title
APPROVE nominee for membership on Metro’s San Gabriel Valley Service Council (Attachment A).
Issue
ISSUE
The San Gabriel Valley Service Council has a vacancy due to the resignation of a Representative on February 3, 2025.
Background
BACKGROUND
Metro Service Councils (MSCs) were created in 2002 as community-based bodies that improve bus service and promote service coordination with municipal and local transit providers. The MSC bylaws specify that representatives who live, work, or represent the region should have a basic working knowledge of public transit service within their area and understand 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 for proposed bus route changes, and considering staff recommendations/public comments. All route and major service changes approved by the MSCs will be brought to the Metro Board of Directors as an information item. If the Metro Board moves 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 Council’s nominating authorities have nominated the individual listed below. If approved by the Board, he will serve the remainder of the three-year term specified. Attachments A and B provide a brief list of qualifications for the new nominee and the nomination letter.
For reference, should this nominee be appointed, the 2023 American Community Survey demographics and 2023 Metro Ridership Survey demographics for the region are compared to the Council composition.
San Gabriel Valley Service Council
A. John Wu, New Appointment
Nominated by: Cities of Alhambra, San Gabriel, San Marino, and South Pasadena
Term: July 1, 2023 - June 30, 2026
With the appointment of the nominee, the San Gabriel Valley (SGV) Service Council membership will compare to the region’s demographics and ridership as follows:
The gender makeup of the SGV Service Council will be as follows:
*Note: In the tables providing sex/gender representation data for each Council, the Los Angeles County data is taken from the Census 2022 Quick Facts, which includes a question intended to capture current sex but does not include questions about gender, sexual orientation, or sex at birth.
Equity_Platform
EQUITY PLATFORM
Metro recommends appointing Service Council members who represent the diverse needs and priorities of the respective region’s demographics. To further encourage nominating authorities to nominate individuals who closely reflect the region and its ridership, Metro staff shares Service Council membership race/ethnicity and gender demographic makeup compared to that of the residents with each nomination request. This practice resulted in greater diversity of race/ethnicity and gender over the last several years of the Service Councils. However, approximately half of LA County residents and Metro riders are women, and work is still required to achieve gender equity in some of the Service Councils. Staff will continue to share demographic information and encourage nominating authorities to consider gender equity when considering individuals for nomination.
Vehicle_Miles_Traveled _Outcome
VEHICLE MILES TRAVELED OUTCOME
VMT and VMT per capita in Los Angeles County are lower than national averages, the lowest in the SCAG region, and on the lower end of VMT per capita statewide, with these declining VMT trends due in part to Metro’s significant investment in rail and bus transit.* Metro’s Board-adopted VMT reduction targets align with California’s statewide climate goals, including achieving carbon neutrality by 2045. To ensure continued progress, all Board items are assessed for their potential impact on VMT.
This item supports Metro’s systemwide strategy to reduce VMT through operational activities that will improve and further encourage transit ridership, ridesharing, and active transportation. Metro’s Board-adopted VMT reduction targets were designed to build on the success of existing investments, and this item aligns with those objectives.
While this item does not directly encourage taking transit, sharing a ride, or using active transportation, it is a vital part of Metro operations, as it maintains a fully appointed advisory body that enables local area stakeholders to provide input on how Metro’s bus service is performing in their communities, thereby contributing to Metro’s efforts to improve the customer experience. A fully appointed advisory body increases public engagement and provides transparency around Metro’s decision-making process for service planning. Because the Metro Board has adopted an agency-wide VMT Reduction Target, and this item generally supports the overall function of the agency, this item is consistent with the goals of reducing VMT.
*Based on population estimates from the United States Census and VMT estimates from Caltrans’ Highway Performance Monitoring System (HPMS) data between 2001-2019.
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 not to be approved for appointment. This would reduce the effectiveness of the Service Councils, as it would increase the challenges of obtaining a necessary quorum for this Service Council to formulate and submit its recommendations to the Board. It would also result in the Service Council having a less diverse representation of their service area.
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
