SerpApi.Org
As Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is set to chair the LA Metro Board of Directors in the coming months, she emphasized the critical role of the transit agency ahead of the 2028 LA Olympics during her speech on Wednesday.
Bass was given a ceremonial gavel Wednesday as she is set to lead the LA Metro board for the 2026-2027 fiscal year. During her State of the Agency address at Union Station, Bass emphasized the four priorities for LA Metro: safety, affordability, reliability and readiness.
“Public transit, quite literally, is one of the most powerful tools to change and improve the quality of life, and that’s what we’re building,” the mayor said as LA Metro continues to examine a long-term financial strategy to make Metro fare-free.
Bass said she aims to expand the number of miles of bus lanes that operate during rush hour from 80 miles to more than 100 miles.
“At its core, this is about proving what we just proved during the World Cup — that we can move a crowd, and that we can run a world-class system under pressure,” she said.
There will be a shake-up with the Metro board with a couple of members leaving public office. Current Metro Board Chair Fernando Dutra, a former Whittier city councilmember, will be stepping down after having lost his re-election bid in April. Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson will replace Dutra on the board.
Glendale Mayor and Metro Director Ara Najarian is also expected to step down after he announced his retirement earlier this year. Glendale City Councilman Ardashes “Ardy” Kassakhian was selected to succeed Najarian in April.
Last week, Santa Clarita City Councilman Jason Gibbs was elected to the Metro Board to replace Najarian in representing the cities of north LA County and the San Fernando Valley. Gibbs’ appointment is expected to be finalized in a ratification vote during a meeting of the Los Angeles County City Selection Committee North
County/San Fernando Valley Corridor Sector on July 30.
LA County Supervisor and Metro Board First Vice Chair Kathryn Barger discussed the agency’s efforts to improve safety, noting that reported violent crime has decreased by more than 22% since 2024. Operator assaults have been reduced by half and serious assaults are down by 67% as well, she said.
Barger credited the installation of taller fare gates at 26 stations, expanded tap to exit, upgraded security cameras, an opened state-of-the-art emergency security operations center, and retrofitted buses with safety
barriers for drivers.
Officials previously announced that former San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott would head the new department. In June, the transit agency began recruitment of officers, with more information available at JoinMetroDPS.com.
By the end of 2029, Metro aims to deploy in-house police officers alongside its other public safety teams utilizing a zone-based deployment model. Each zone will have at least one crisis co-response team assigned to
respond to calls and do proactive engagement onboard trains, buses and at transit stations.
Metro recorded a total of 26,265,480 rides last month, representing an increase of 2 million compared to June 2025, or a 9% growth, and separately more than 212,000 fans boarded buses on Metro’s World Cup enhanced service.
