Meeting_Body
OPERATIONS, SAFETY AND CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE COMMITTEE
OCTOBER 19, 2023
Subject
SUBJECT: METRO TRANSIT AMBASSADOR PILOT PROGRAM EVALUATION
Action
ACTION: APPROVE RECOMMENDATIONS
Heading
RECOMMENDATIONS
Title
CONSIDER:
A. RECEIVING AND FILING the Evaluation of the Pilot Transit Ambassador Program; and
B. AUTHORIZING the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) to establish a permanent Transit Ambassador Program and transition the program in-house over the next 12 months.
SANDOVAL AND DUTRA AMENDMENT:
C. REPORTING BACK at the April 2024 Board Meeting with a progress report on the
transition of the Program, including (i) cost estimates of the in-house program as part of the Metro Fiscal Year 2024-2025 Budget, (ii) potential changes in program operations, and (iii) cost to provide an enhanced Ambassador program with coverage across the entire Metro transit system.
Issue
ISSUE
In September 2022, Metro initiated a pilot Transit Ambassador Program that introduced a public safety element of uniformed, unarmed visible presence while providing care-based, in-person assistance to riders, with the primary objective of enhancing the overall customer experience. Throughout the initial year of the pilot, the Ambassadors have proven to be an integral part of Metro's broader public safety network, collaborating with Metro's system security, law enforcement, crisis response, and homeless outreach teams. This report provides a comprehensive overview of the program's impact, including highlights of the positive effects the Ambassadors have had on the transit rider community, as well as lessons learned for improvement. The program has proven its effectiveness in achieving its objectives, supporting the recommendation to transition the outsourced Pilot Transit Ambassador Program to a permanent, in-house program.
Background
BACKGROUND
After the George Floyd protests in 2020, a national conversation ignited regarding the state of public safety and law enforcement in the United States. Advocates from community organizations, especially those representing communities of color, contended that excessive policing led to unequal treatment and too many instances of unnecessary violence. At its June 2020 meeting, the Board approved Motion 37 by Directors Bonin, Garcetti, Hahn, Dupont-Walker, and Solis (Attachment A), directing the CEO to reimagine Metro’s public safety programs and initiatives by focusing on opportunities for enhancing the agency's policing practices and expanding the range of available public safety measures to address a wider array of issues, including standing up a Transit Ambassador program.
In 2021, Metro staff developed the framework for a pilot Transit Ambassador Program. Staff collected direct feedback from internal and external stakeholder working groups, incorporated the priorities of the Metro Public Safety Advisory Committee (PSAC), solicited direct customer and employee feedback, and reviewed elements of other transit agency ambassador programs. At its February 2022 meeting, the Board received the reimagined public safety framework, which included the Transit Ambassador program to be deployed through an outsourced model for the pilot period and transition to in-house if the program becomes permanent. Following a competitive procurement process, at its June 2022 meeting, the Board authorized the CEO to execute contracts with Strive Well-Being Inc. (Contract No. PS88001001) and RMI International Inc. (Contract No. PS88001000) to provide a Pilot Transit Ambassador Program for a three-year base period for $71,279,189, with two, one-year options for $51,569,235 for a total not to exceed amount of $122,848,424. Staff committed to evaluating the pilot program utilizing real-time data and customer feedback and return to the Board with a recommendation regarding the program’s continuation.
Ambassador Program Objectives
The program is designed with the following objectives:
• Improve perceptions of safety by providing a visible presence on the system to enhance riders’ sense of personal safety and security. For issues that require special intervention, Ambassadors alert the elements of our public safety ecosystem:
o Law enforcement regarding incidents of crime;
o Metro transit security officers for code of conduct compliance;
o Homeless outreach teams and crisis intervention teams who provide care-first support for vulnerable riders; and
Cleanliness and elevator/escalator maintenance issues that, if not promptly addressed, make stations, trains, and buses feel less safe.
• Improve customer experience by helping riders more confidently navigate the system, anticipate their needs, and proactively engage and connect with customers, and connect vulnerable riders to resources.
Program Launch
In September 2022, the Ambassadors hired by Strive Well-Being and RMI began their comprehensive training. The following month, Metro soft-launched the Transit Ambassador Pilot Program alongside the debut of the K-Line. This new rail line, situated entirely within equity-focused communities, presented an ideal opportunity for testing alternative approaches to traditional policing. Metro initially deployed 54 Ambassadors on the K-line and Union Station. As more Ambassadors were hired, their deployment expanded across the system based on quantitative and qualitative data. The program was formally launched in March 2023 once the system-wide goal of 300 trained Ambassadors was met.
Today, Ambassadors are deployed on the Metro system from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekends, and during extended hours as needed to support special events. They wear brightly colored uniforms so riders can easily identify them, and they are equipped with cell phones and tablets utilized to report safety, maintenance, and cleanliness issues via the Transit Watch app, or to contact appropriate Metro staff for issues that need immediate attention.
Ambassador Background and Training
Metro Ambassadors are diverse, and multilingual, and live in the communities Metro serves. In fact, 44% of Ambassadors speak one of sixteen languages other than English, including Spanish, American Sign Language, Chinese, French, Tagalog and more. All have either lived or professional experiences that increase their ability to perform their job with empathy, respect, and skill.
To ensure Ambassadors are prepared for this role, they are required to complete a comprehensive 80-hour pre-deployment training curriculum that includes cultural and situational awareness, implicit bias, disability awareness, public safety awareness, emergency preparedness, CPR, customer service, trauma-informed response, and conflict de-escalation. Ambassadors are also educated on transit operations and trained to seek the appropriate response from maintenance, transit security, law enforcement, and/or homeless outreach services. The training curriculum was developed by staff from various Metro departments with input from external partners, such as Metro’s homeless outreach provider PATH and Metro’s law enforcement partners. At the request of the Board, the training was extended in March 2023 to include NARCAN.
Discussion
DISCUSSION
Ambassadors quickly became a critical component of Metro’s multi-layered approach to improving public safety in keeping with the agency’s Board-adopted Public Safety Mission and Values (Attachment B). Metro deploys an average of 236 Ambassadors daily to locations where customer safety concerns have been the greatest. Eighty-one percent of the Ambassadors are deployed to rail lines and stations, and 19% are deployed on bus lines (Lines 20, 40, 210, 720 and the J Line).
In response to ongoing concerns regarding passenger safety, both at station platforms and aboard trains and buses, Ambassadors are deployed as dedicated riding teams, each assigned to specific rail or bus lines. In addition, certain Ambassadors operate in mobile/roving teams, riding buses and trains, alighting at stations, and promptly reporting incidents transpiring on platforms and mezzanine areas before reboarding for the next station. They are also deployed to fixed posts as needed for special events or initiatives. As the pilot program evolved, time and accumulated experience revealed that they are an invaluable resource for public safety and security, as evidenced through serving as eyes and ears on the system, the administration of lifesaving actions (CPR and Narcan doses), and the numerous testimonials from satisfied customers.
Year in Review
Ambassadors reported 502,656 interactions with riders (interactions are defined as engagement with riders - that is beyond a simple greeting, such as help with wayfinding). This increased Metro’s face-to-face customer service interactions by 256%, when compared to 174,751 visits to the Metro Customer Service Centers during the same period. 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.
In the first year of service, the pilot Transit Ambassador Program has seen significant achievements and successful outcomes. This innovative program exceeded its established objectives, demonstrating its capacity to positively impact public safety and enhance the experience of our Metro riders and employees. The findings within this report underscore the significance of this initiative and the potential for its continued success in creating a safer and more welcoming transit environment for all.
Pilot Period Evaluation
Metro launched the evaluation of the pilot Transit Ambassador Program following its first year, driven by the program's success and the favorable results it achieved. The program evaluation includes the review and analysis of customer feedback provided via social media, calls and emails to the Metro Call Center, the examination of the Ambassadors’ reported activity during the program's initial year of implementation and an Ambassador Evaluation Survey to supplement the customer feedback (Attachment C).
Overall Assessment
The data collected and customer responses validate that the Ambassador program is meeting its intended objectives to improve the customer experience and improve safety and perceptions of safety, including helping to facilitate improved maintenance and cleanliness on the system. The bottom line: 61% of customers surveyed who have seen Ambassadors want to see more of them on the system, and 54% stated that Ambassadors make them want to ride Metro more. The details of the findings are outlined below.
Improving Perceptions of Safety
The Ambassadors have served as effective eyes and ears on the system, providing system safety and law enforcement information they can use to more quickly respond to safety issues on the system. Since the inception of their deployment in October 2022 through September 2023, Ambassadors have reported 1,994 safety-related incidents through the Transit Watch App (Attachment D) and made 665 phone calls to 911 or Metro’s Security Operations Center. They have also saved lives through CPR, suicide prevention, and the administration of NARCAN. In fact, the successful use of NARCAN by Ambassadors has saved 52 riders since they began carrying it in mid-April 2023, an average of three lives saved each week in just the last six months.
Visible presence makes a difference
The visible presence of Metro Ambassadors contributes to the perceptions of safety, with the overwhelming number (97%) of survey respondents who reported having seen Ambassadors stating that Ambassadors are easy to see and 63% stating that seeing them made them feel safer. Of those who reported seeing an Ambassador, 40% had asked them for help, and among those who had asked for help, 96% found them to be helpful.
It appears that the interactions are important because the customers with more interactions with the Ambassadors were more likely to be satisfied with feeling safe from crime on the Metro system. The survey found that 43% of those who stated they have asked Ambassadors for help are satisfied with safety from crime, compared to 33% of those who have not seen Ambassadors.
Ultimately, 63% of those surveyed indicate that seeing an Ambassador makes them feel safer. That number increases to 66% among women and among people earning less than $25K a year, 68% among people Hispanic/Latinos and people under the age of 18 and 70% among Asian/Pacific Islanders.
Qualitative reports from riders indicate that Ambassadors have responded quickly when customers had an immediate safety need, aided in identifying and even apprehending aggressors, deterred the use of illegal drugs aboard the system, and helped riders in physical distress. Below is a compilation of customer comments that highlight how Ambassadors have enhanced safety on the transit system:
• “Today, March 12, 2023, Mr. Sanchez a Metro Ambassador helped me very much. I just got off the bus, 210, at Crenshaw and 42nd. I was waiting the bus 105 to La Brea and Obama. A "homeless" came up to me. He was deranged! He was cussing and threating me. I am disable. Mr. Sanchez knew exactly what to do. He first introduced from Metro. He engaged in light conversation until the "deranged” man had passed. Mr. Sanchez waiting with me until my bus arrived! Thank you for Ambassador Mr. Sanchez and for all the good people who work at Metro!!" Customer comment, March 12, 2023
• “As a lone female rider on public transport, I just wanted to say how much I appreciate the metro ambassadors’ program. It makes a huge difference to my experience/sense of personal safety, and it’ll really help ridership! Thank you! Please let me know if there is any way I can support the program!" Customer comment, May 29, 2023
• “Having metro ambassadors on the buses and train and at bus stops, makes me feel a bit safer. Though they aren’t security, they are there to enforce metro rules, so I know if anyone near me is being weird I just stand or sit near them and carry on waiting.” Customer comment, July 28, 2023
Riders’ perceptions of safety and enjoyment of their riding experience are significantly influenced by the physical conditions of the Metro system. Therefore, a significant scope of the Ambassadors’ role is to facilitate timely resolution of cleanliness and maintenance issues. From the inception of their deployment in October 2022 through September 2023, Ambassadors doubled the total number of incidences and issues that were reported, including:
• 9,404 cleanliness and maintenance issues (an additional 8,141 issues reported directly from riders)
• 2,809 graffiti sightings (an additional 1,416 sightings were reported by riders); and
• 2,671 escalator and elevator problems (an additional 1,884 were reported by riders)
The Survey found that more than half of customers who have seen the Ambassadors noted that their riding experience has improved over the last year. When asked what has contributed to that improvement, 17% of those who said it had improved cited improved safety and 16% cited improved cleanliness. “I think the new Metro Ambassadors at the stations has really helped the cleanliness and overall safety of the stations and trains,” said one survey respondent.
Ambassadors are Saving Lives
The opioid crisis has cast a deadly shadow over the nation, significantly impacting the communities Metro serves and, consequently, the transit system. As the crisis continues to unfold, individuals in need of urgent medical attention due to overdoses aboard Metro’s trains and buses. In this challenging context, ambassadors have emerged as unsung heroes.
Since the Program’s launch, Ambassadors have provided lifesaving treatment on more than 70 occasions. During the first week of their deployment alone, the Metro Ambassadors saved three lives by using CPR and/or calling in emergency help, and throughout the first year, Ambassadors have saved 20 lives using CPR, suicide prevention, and other interventions, demonstrating the critical impact that a robust, effectively trained team focused on safety and the customer experience can have on the system.
That number increased significantly in April 2023 after Ambassadors were equipped with and trained, at the request of the Board, to administer the life-saving opioid overdose reversal medication NARCAN. Ambassadors have played a crucial role in responding swiftly to overdose incidents on transit and in the stations. Over the past six months, Ambassadors have administered Narcan on 52 separate incidents, thereby providing lifesaving treatment to individuals who were overdosing, considerably augmenting the same intervention by transit security officers who administered Narcan during 33 incidents during the same period.
Improving the Customer Experience
Flexible Deployment Improves Service
Metro staff knew that deployment would be key to the success of the Ambassador program. Ambassadors need to be deployed where and when customers felt less safe or would need the most help navigating the system. Staff knew from customer comments that customers feel less safe while waiting on station platforms and aboard trains and buses - both are times when riders feel it would be more difficult to escape an uncomfortable situation. Therefore, most of the Ambassadors are deployed as riding and roving teams where they ride a specific rail or bus line and help customers onboard vehicles, exit at each station or stop, and report any incidents at station platforms and mezzanine areas, then re-board the train to the next station. This deployment has helped to improve the customer experience.
The Pilot Transit Ambassador Program has proven to be valuable for its adaptability and capacity for real-time response. One of the program’s notable features is the ability to swiftly address issues as they arise, offering a flexible and dynamic approach to ensuring the safety and convenience of our riders. This real-time responsiveness has allowed Metro to effectively manage unexpected challenges, such as unexpected service disruptions, with rapid redeployment of resources.
Furthermore, the program's flexibility has been instrumental in supporting large, planned events, where the demand for coverage surges. By strategically deploying Ambassadors during these high-ridership occasions, Metro has ensured the smooth flow of operations and an enhanced experience for the thousands of riders who may be new to our services during such events. This dual capacity for addressing immediate needs and scaling up for special events has made the Pilot Transit Ambassador Program an indispensable tool in Metro’s efforts to provide exceptional service and safety to our Metro riders and employees. Below is a selection of special events and service challenges during which Ambassadors provided valuable assistance:
|
Special Events |
|
• USC Festival |
• Rose Parade |
|
• CicLaVia |
• Academy Awards |
|
• Taylor Swift Concert Series |
• Rams and Chargers Games |
|
• 2023 Train Festival |
• USC and UCLA Football Games |
|
• NYE Grand Park Celebration |
• LAFC Soccer Games |
|
• LAUS Tree Lighting Event |
• NCAA Championship Football Game |
|
|
|
|
Service Disruptions |
Security Deployments |
|
• Bus Bridge Support |
• Anti-Drug Campaign (B/D lines) |
|
• Metro Bus Shake-Ups |
• Surge Deployment (B/D lines |
|
• Union Station Flooding |
• Multi-layer Deployment |
|
• Redondo Beach Transit Center Service Transition |
|
|
• Regional Connector Pre-revenue Testing |
|
Feedback from riders regarding Ambassadors has been overwhelmingly positive, underscoring their significant contributions to enhancing the overall Metro experience. Riders have consistently reported that Ambassadors not only create a friendly and approachable atmosphere by answering questions but also go above and beyond by providing valuable assistance, such as aiding individuals with walkers, facilitating ticketing processes, offering guidance in wayfinding, serving as an elevator attendant, and ensuring a seamless utilization of the Metro system. As noted earlier, Ambassador Evaluation Survey respondents who had seen Ambassadors overwhelmingly reported Ambassadors being easy to see (97%). They also reported that the Ambassadors are friendly (94%), approachable (94%), easy to communicate with (93%), informative (92%), and eager to help (90%). These traits go a long way to providing a high-touch in-person customer experience for our customers.
Customer comments illustrate the tangible improvements in the customer experience:
• “Hello. Thank you, thank you, thank you, for the goodwill ambassadors on trains and in stations. A huge difference in riding experience. Ambassadors are friendly, smiling, helpful, and welcoming. Literally they offer “welcome” on the train. A great idea. Hope they continue the program for good. Trains even seem cleaner. The despair felt on trains seems to be lifting. Just the presence alone of ambassadors is huge. Thanks again. PS… hope the same is done for buses too.” Ambassador Evaluation Survey respondent, Summer 2023
• “Thank you for adding ambassadors to trains and stations! Terrific. Makes a huge difference. Ambassadors are kind, friendly, and welcoming. Well done. Great employees. I make it a point to stop and thank them all the time. The despair I felt on trains is lifting. Feels, safer, cleaner, and less stressful on trains. Energy is different! Amen! Hope Metro does the same for buses in some form. And please keep ambassadors in place.” Customer comment, May 19, 2023
• “I just wanted to say Mario Estrada, a Metro Ambassador that was at the Little Tokyo station was so helpful and kind in answering my questions about the new metro lines. I was so confused on how to find my way and he explained everything showed me on the map the changes. I have had a hard time figuring out this new change and he was very helpful.” Customer comment, July 2, 2023
Based on the Metro Ambassador Evaluation Survey, Ambassadors appear to improve the Metro customer experience. 54% of riders who have seen ambassadors, and 61% of those who have asked an ambassador for help, believe their riding experience has improved, relative to only 45% of those who have not seen ambassadors. In addition, those who have had more interaction with Ambassadors have higher overall satisfaction with the Metro riding experience. For example, 66% of those who have asked Ambassadors for help indicate they are satisfied with Metro, relative to 57% of those who have not seen an ambassador.
Areas for Improvement
Based on customer comments and survey results, staff were able to identify some areas of improvement for the program. These are:
• Ensure the Ambassadors have ample break rooms so that they are not viewed in public taking their breaks - which has led to the perception by some that they are “just sitting or standing around.”
• Provide “Transit Watch App” branded phone cases so that customers better understand that when Ambassadors are “looking at their phones” they are usually reporting incidents on the Transit Watch app.
• Expand Ambassador deployment to more areas of the system.
• Expand Ambassador working hours to support customers early and late.
• Consider expanding what Ambassadors can do (e.g., enforce the code of conduct) and launch a communications campaign to ensure riders know clearly what they do and don’t do.
• Provide Ambassadors with radios so they can communicate directly with the other layers of the public safety ecosystem, enabling a faster response to issues.
• Provide additional tools so the Ambassadors are more quickly apprised of service disruptions.
Transitioning from outsourced Service to an in-house Model
Metro’s Pilot Transit Ambassador Program is inspired by other programs in San Francisco on the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system and Philadelphia on the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority’s (SEPTA) transit system. Since the launch of Metro’s program, several other transit agencies across the nation have initiated ambassador programs to enhance safety and security, as further summarized in Attachment E.
Currently, 11 other transit agencies have initiated ambassador programs, and over 70% have chosen to manage their programs in-house, utilizing their own employees. Additionally, more than half of these agencies have integrated their ambassador programs into their broader public safety and security framework.
There are several benefits to transitioning to an in-house model:
• As represented Metro employees, Ambassadors would have access to enhanced career opportunities such as promotion opportunities across the agency, improved health and retirement benefits, access to Metro’s suite of training courses, and job security. The current retention rate of Ambassadors is 73% vs the current retention rate of represented Metro employees at 86%.
• Administrative: With several vendors managed by a small in-house team, the administration (e.g., ID badge issuance and replacement) can be cumbersome.
• Opportunities for improved service through uniformity in issued technology, pre-employment background checks, training, Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), and policies that are currently slightly different depending on the vendor.
• Opportunities for closer collaboration with other Metro employees, particularly those who are a part of the multi-layer approach to safety.
As previously stated in February 2022, staff expressed the intent to bring this program in-house if it were to become permanent. Metro’s Board adopted the Living Wage and Service Contract Worker Retention Policy (Attachment F) mandates that employers under Metro service contracts, meeting specific criteria concerning value and duration, must ensure the retention of workers by the successor contractor. Staff believes this policy should be applicable to Metro as well when the agency assumes the role of the successor employer. Therefore, should the Board approve the permanency of the Transit Ambassador Program, staff will work with the two contractors currently providing ambassadors to facilitate the transition of these employees into Metro as permanent employees.
When the pilot program commenced, two labor unions claimed the ambassador work as the responsibility of their members: the Transportation Communications Union whose members primarily perform customer service duties and the Teamsters Union whose members provide uniformed safety and security functions. Before establishing the internal Ambassador classifications, Metro staff intends to notify and meet with the appropriate labor union representatives to address the issue of labor representation. The supervisory positions are the responsibility of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees , as such, their members would supervise the daily operations of the ambassador program if it is brought in-house.
DETERMINATION OF SAFETY IMPACT
Consistent with the Board-adopted Public Safety Mission and Values, Metro has sought to engage a multi-layered approach to public safety that strategically mobilizes unarmed first responders. Ambassadors have demonstrated that they can play a significant role in Metro’s public safety ecosystem and work in in connection with Metro security, law enforcement, crisis response teams, and homeless outreach teams to effectively engage riders and improve perceptions of safety. Ambassadors are a vital layer within Metro’s overall public safety ecosystem in connection with Metro’s system security, law enforcement, crisis response teams, and homeless outreach. The evaluation completed over the first year of the pilot program validates this position, and data from the past year affirms that Ambassadors have frequently been involved not just in reporting challenges on the system but in directly administering lifesaving treatment to individuals on the system during times of need.
Financial_Impact
FINANCIAL IMPACT
The combined board approved not-to-exceed amount for Strive Well-Being and RMI International, inclusive of the executed contracts and future options, over the five-year pilot is $122,848,424. Total expenditure spent to date through August 2023 is $23,484,066.
The FY24 Budget includes $20 million for the Transit Ambassador program in Cost Center 5420, Customer Programs and Services, under Project 300040, Rail Operations Management and Admin and Project 300014, Regional Activities. Since this is a multi-year program, the Cost Center Manager, Project Manager, and Chief Customer Experience Officer will be responsible for budgeting the costs in future years.
Impact to Budget
The sources of funding are Enterprise Funds and bus and/or rail operating eligible federal, state, and local resources.
Equity_Platform
EQUITY PLATFORM
In establishing the Pilot Transit Ambassador Program, Metro has sought to deliver an improved overall customer experience on the transit system through this customer-facing program on board bus and rail vehicles and at transit stations, through staff that is representative of Metro and the communities we serve. An equity review was completed by Metro staff before the final deployment model for the program to ensure that the program had staff assigned to work in high need areas, including bus stops/stations and rail stations within Equity Focus Communities.
The recommendation to transition to an in-house model would institutionalize this successful pilot that has demonstrated system safety can be supported by unarmed customer-oriented staff. Essential and direct service workers are often more vulnerable members of the overall labor force and an in-house model is expected to provide career advancement opportunities for ambassadors who provide a valuable direct service to Metro customers and the overall system.
Implementation_of_Strategic_Plan_Goals
IMPLEMENTATION OF STRATEGIC PLANNING GOALS
The Ambassador Program is aligned with the Vision 2028 Strategic Goal 2 - Deliver outstanding trip experiences for all users of the transportation system and supports the agency’s implementation of the 2022 Customer Experience Plan Goals. The program also supports Goal 2.1: Metro is Committed to improving security by providing a more visible presence of trained, easily identifiable, uniformed staff that customers can rely on.
ALTERNATVES CONSIDERED
1. The Board could opt to end the pilot Ambassador Program. This is not recommended given that the program has demonstrated its efficacy in achieving its intended objectives to improve the customer experience and safety on the system.
2. The Board could decide to continue the Ambassador Program as a pilot. Staff does not recommend this because it has already demonstrated its efficacy in achieving its intended objectives to improve the customer experience and safety on the system. Implementing a permanent program in lieu of continuing the pilot will create long-term employment opportunities and career growth for ambassadors. Over the past year, the pilot Ambassador Program turnover rate was 27% vs Metro’s represented employee rate of 14.2%.
Next Steps
NEXT STEPS
If the Board approves transitioning the Pilot Transit Ambassador Program to a permanent, in-house program, staff will implement a worker retention plan to hire the existing qualified ambassadors as Metro employees over the next 12 months and notify and meet with the appropriate labor union representatives to address the issue of labor representation. Staff will also make enhancements to the ambassador roles and deployment plans, such as expanding the hours of ambassador shifts to cover Metro hours of operation. Staff will be using the evaluation to refine, adjust, and enhance the program, ensuring that the Transit Ambassador Program remains responsive, effective, and aligned with Metro’s missions and goals.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A - Motion 37 by Directors Bonin, Garcetti, Hahn, Dupont-Walker, and Solis
Attachment B - Metro Public Safety Mission & Values Statement
Attachment C - Ambassador Evaluation Survey
Attachment D - Ambassador Transit Watch Reports
Attachment E - Transit Agencies with Ambassador Programs
Attachment F - Metro Living Wage and Service Worker Retention Policy
Prepared_by
Prepared by: Vanessa Smith, Executive Officer, (213) 922-7009
Reviewed_By
Reviewed by: Jennifer Vides, Chief Customer Experience Officer, (213) 922-4060
Nicole Englund, Chief of Staff (213) 922-7950
