LA Metro Transit Ambassador Program
Program Name: Metro Transit Ambassador Program Transit System: Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro) Service Area: Los Angeles County, trains, buses, and transit stations across the system Launch: Pilot launched; made permanent by Metro Board of Directors 2023 Workforce Size: 439 authorized positions (388 Teamsters-covered ambassadors, 49 supervisors, 2 management); daily deployment target of 322 ambassadors (as of July 2025) Uniform: Distinctive lime green jackets
Why Los Angeles Built This
The Los Angeles Times editorial board described the core problem: “the vast majority of safety concerns cited by riders are about comfort and cleanliness,” specifically “homeless people sleeping on the trains and buses” and “people experiencing mental health crises.” [2]
The editorial board stated: “Riders deserve safer bus and rail service. And Metro is doomed without it.” [2]
Los Angeles Supervisor Holly Mitchell announced the design rationale: “Every one of my constituents has a different perception of what it takes for them to feel safe in a public space. We thought that by having an extra set of eyes in the system, unarmed and well trained, we can improve people’s perceptions of public safety without the unnecessary risks of over policing or enabling situations to escalate to violence.” [3]
How the Program Works
LA Metro ambassadors in lime green jackets are deployed across the system’s rail lines and select bus routes, providing continuous visible presence throughout service hours. [1] Training covers “everything from mental health to de-escalation tactics before officially hitting the platform.” [4] Ambassadors carry naloxone and are certified in CPR. [1]
David Moreland, a 70-year-old Vietnam War veteran who served as a military medic, reported personally resuscitating five people, three through Narcan administration and two through CPR. [1]
What the Program Has Produced
Life-saving outcomes. LA Metro’s official board records document 334 lives saved through Narcan administration and CPR interventions as of July 2025. This figure comes from Metro’s internal tracking, not an independently verified case-by-case count. [1]
Rider perception. A Safer Cities rider survey found 63% of passengers reported feeling safer when they see ambassadors on the system. This is a program-commissioned survey, not an independent study, and measures rider experience rather than underlying crime rates. [7]
Ridership impact. The Metro Board of Directors, in making the program permanent, found that ambassadors had “improved public safety and helped increase ridership on its transit system.” [5]
Independent evaluation. UCLA’s Institute of Transportation Studies published an evaluation of the ambassador pilot in December 2025, recommending the program as a potential national model. Researchers found the program “was able to achieve many of its initial goals” and that “safety perceptions increased over the period ambassadors were deployed.” The evaluation identified areas for improvement: higher pay, better benefits, stronger career pathways, and improved data collection and evaluation. [6]
The Decision to Make the Program Permanent
The Metro Board of Directors voted to make the ambassador program permanent in 2023, finding that ambassadors had “improved public safety and helped increase ridership on its transit system.” [5] The board authorized the July 2025 Teamsters transition, setting the workforce at 439 authorized positions with a daily deployment target of 322. [1]
The Unresolved Coverage Gap
Ambassadors are concentrated on the system’s six rail lines, while 80% of Metro riders travel by bus. [1, 8] Community groups have called for a four-to-five-fold increase in the ambassador program budget specifically to extend coverage to buses. [8]
Federal Transit Administration ridership surveys document that bus riders skew lower-income relative to rail riders. The equity dimension of the coverage gap: the riders with the most alternatives have the most ambassador coverage, and the riders with the fewest alternatives have the least. [FTA National Transit Database]
Key Voices
LA Supervisor Holly Mitchell: “Every one of my constituents has a different perception of what it takes for them to feel safe in a public space. We thought that by having an extra set of eyes in the system, unarmed and well trained, we can improve people’s perceptions of public safety without the unnecessary risks of over policing or enabling situations to escalate to violence.” [3]
LA Metro’s program mission: “Create a culture in which the ambassadors act as the front line, managing the lion’s share of incidents in transit and reserve law enforcement and armed responses to those incidents that truly warrant it.” [10]
Ambassador David Moreland (Vietnam War veteran, former military medic): “I’ve resuscitated five people, three by administering NARCAN, and two using CPR.” [1]
Community advocates (calling for expansion): “Four-to-five-fold increase” in program budget to “add ambassadors to buses, which are how 80% of Metro customers ride.” [8]
Los Angeles Times editorial board: “Riders deserve safer bus and rail service. And Metro is doomed without it.” [2]
What the Record Shows
LA Metro’s board made the program permanent based on documented safety and ridership outcomes. [5] The UCLA evaluation (December 2025) found it achieved its initial goals and recommended it as a potential national model. [6] The program’s binding constraint is not model design — the board’s own finding validated the design — but funding scale: the four-to-five-fold increase needed to extend coverage to buses has not been committed. [1, 8]
Sources
LA Metro board press release (metro.net, July 2025) — 334 lives saved, 439 authorized positions, lime green jackets, program permanence, in-house Teamsters transition: https://www.metro.net/about/metro-board-approves-collective-bargaining-agreement-to-create-in-house-transit-ambassador-department-expand-it-to-more-bus-and-train-lines/; LA Daily News (Steve Scauzillo, June 7, 2024) — David Moreland: https://www.dailynews.com/2024/06/07/saving-riders-from-ods-or-aiding-tourists-la-metro-ambassadors-take-good-with-bad/
Los Angeles Times editorial board (May 6, 2024) — “Metro is doomed without it”: https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2024-05-06/editorial-la-metro-is-doomed-if-it-cant-keep-bus-and-train-riders-safe
Fox News Los Angeles (Hal Eisner, March 6, 2023) — LA Supervisor Holly Mitchell quote: https://www.foxla.com/news/metro-ambassador-program-hopes-to-provide-safety-support-to-riders
NBC News Los Angeles (Anthony Bautista, March 6, 2023) — training description: https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/la-metro-introduces-ambassador-program-aiming-to-improve-rider-safety/3108333/
LA Metro board decision (2023) — permanent status, improved safety and ridership finding: https://www.metro.net/about/metro-board-approves-collective-bargaining-agreement-to-create-in-house-transit-ambassador-department-expand-it-to-more-bus-and-train-lines/
UCLA Institute of Transportation Studies (December 2025) — evaluation recommending LA Metro program as national model: https://www.its.ucla.edu/publication/la-metro-transit-ambassador-shows-promise/
Safer Cities rider survey (2023) — 63% of riders who had seen ambassadors feel safer [Safer Cities proprietary research, no external URL]
LA Metro board press release (metro.net) / Los Angeles Times editorial board (May 2024) — four-to-five-fold increase advocacy, bus coverage gap
The Source (LA Metro) — David Moreland interview
LA Metro, program mission statement: https://www.metro.net/about/metro-board-approves-collective-bargaining-agreement-to-create-in-house-transit-ambassador-department-expand-it-to-more-bus-and-train-lines/