Want to make LA Metro safer? Here’s your chance to have a say

If you’re concerned about safety on L.A. Metro, the agency is inviting people to help shape the system over a two-year term.

Applications are now open for Metro’s Public Safety Advisory Committee, but they’re looking for a specific set of skills, including those who ride regularly, have experience in homelessness or social services, victims’ rights, and mental health — to name a few.

The seven new members must also be committed to safeguarding “the transit community by taking a holistic, equitable and welcoming approach to public safety, in recognition that each individual is entitled to a safe, dignified and human experience,” according to L.A. Metro.

If accepted, you’ll start serving on the committee’s monthly meetings next February, the agency confirmed to LAist.

About the committee

The L.A. Metro Board of Directors voted to “reimagine public safety” on the transit system a little more than four years ago.

It was a “response to demonstrations for racial justice and national conversation about the appropriate role of police in our society,” after the murder of George Floyd and killing of Breonna Taylor, according to Metro motions from 2020 and 2021.

Several of the directors, including Hilda Solis and Janice Hahn, wrote that it was prudent for the agency to reevaluate its safety strategies given those events.

The Public Safety Advisory Committee was initially created to include additional perspectives, and was immediately directed to come up with a community-based approach to public safety on the transit system along with other committees and offices.

More recently, the committee helped launch the ambassadors program. It also reviewed and held a listening session to get rider feedback about the agency’s own police force earlier this year.

Who they're looking for

To serve on the Public Safety Advisory Committee, you're not required to be a U.S. citizen, but you must live in Los Angeles County.

The application includes questions about your ethnicity, age, annual income, gender, housing status, sexual orientation, and disability.

It’ll also ask how often you ride L.A. Metro’s buses or trains, and which lines you use most.

The agency is seeking people who have an interest or experience in law enforcement, equitable transit, racial justice, seniors, youth, women and girls, as well as disability rights. You’ll be asked to explain your lived experience or knowledge in any of those areas.

You’ll also be required to explain your reasoning for wanting to join the committee, and share your top goals for your tenure.

Applications need to be submitted by Sept. 6, and you can do it online by filling out this form.

You can also download a PDF version and submit it via email to psac@metro.net with the subject line "PSAC Application.”

Or you can drop it off at the agency’s customer centers in Baldwin Hills, East L.A., and Wilshire / Vermont during regular office hours, or mail it to: Los Angeles Metro, ATTN: Public Safety Advisory Committee, One Gateway Plaza, Mail Stop 99-13-1, Los Angeles, CA 90012.

If you have any questions about the application, you can call (213) 922-4866 or email the address above.