Meeting_Body
OPERATIONS, SAFETY, AND CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE COMMITTEE
SEPTEMBER 18, 2025
Subject
SUBJECT: APPOINTMENTS TO METRO SAN FERNANDO VALLEY AND WESTSIDE CENTRAL CITIES SERVICE COUNCILS
Action
ACTION: APPROVE RECOMMENDATION
Heading
RECOMMENDATION
Title
APPROVE nominees for membership on Metro’s San Fernando Valley and Westside Central Service Councils (Attachment A).
Issue
ISSUE
The terms of two appointees on the San Fernando Valley Service Council and one appointee on the Westside Central Cities Service Council expired on June 30, 2025. Another member of the San Fernando Valley Service Council has been nominated to move from the San Fernando Valley Service Council to fill the vacancy on the Westside Central Service Council, and a replacement is being nominated to fill the seat of the previous member for the remaining term of July 1, 2023 – June 30, 2026.
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 nominating authorities have nominated the individuals listed below. If approved by the Board, they will serve the remainder of the three-year terms specified. Attachments A and B provide the nomination letters and a brief list of qualifications for the new nominee.
For reference, the 2023 American Community Survey demographics and 2023 Metro Ridership Survey demographics for the region are compared to what would be each Council’s updated composition with the appointment of these nominees. The sex/gender composition for Los Angeles County is taken from the 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. This is denoted by an asterisk in the “non-binary/non-conforming” and “prefer to self-describe/decline to state” fields within the tables below.
Lastly, the attendance record over the July 1, 2022 – June 30, 2025, term is provided for incumbent candidates.
San Fernando Valley Service Council
A. Louis Herrera, Reappointment
Nominated by: Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass
Term: July 1, 2025 - June 30, 2028
Attendance record: of the 30 meetings held during his most recent term, he has attended 22 (73%).
B. Michael Menjivar, New Appointment
Nominated by: Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass
Term: July 1, 2023 - June 30, 2026
C. Marianne Riggins, New Appointment
Nominated by: Las Virgenes Malibu Council of Governments
Term: July 1, 2025 - June 30, 2028
With the appointment of these nominees, the San Fernando Valley (SFV) Service Council membership will compare to the region’s demographics and ridership as seen in Attachment C, Table 1
The gender makeup of the SFV Service Council will be as seen in Attachment C, Table 2.
Westside Central Cities Service Council
Erin Nash has served on the San Fernando Valley Service Council since February 2021. While they continue to work in the San Fernando Valley service area, they recently relocated to the Westside Central service area. As there is a vacancy on the Westside Central Service Council, the nominating authority has opted to appoint them to the Westside Central Service Council to more closely align with their residence. Their attendance record for their current term of July 1, 2023 – June 30, 2026, on the San Fernando Valley Service Council is provided below.
D. Erin Nash, Appointment
Nominated by: Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass
Term: July 1, 2025 - June 30, 2028
Attendance record: Of the 30 meetings held during their most recent term on the San Fernando Valley Service Council, they have attended 21 (70%).
With the appointment of this nominee, the Westside Central Cities (WSC) Service Council membership will compare to the region’s demographics and ridership as seen in Attachment C, Table 3:
The gender makeup of the WSC Service Council will be as seen in Attachment C, Table 4.
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 and riders with each nomination request. This practice has 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 on some of the Service Councils. The gender representation on all Service Councils is seen in Attachment C, Table 5.
Staff will continue to share demographic information and encourage nominating authorities to consider gender equity when selecting 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 makes progress towards fully appointed advisory bodies 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 these nominees 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 these Service Councils to formulate and submit recommendations to the Board. It would also result in these Service Councils having a less diverse representation of their 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 – Nomination Letters
Attachment B – New Appointees' Biographies and Qualifications
Attachment C – Additional Data
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
Digitally approved by Stephanie Wiggins, Chief Executive Officer