Incoming Board Chair Fernando Dutra, Metro CEO Stephanie Wiggins, Unveil Priorities for New Fiscal Year, Reiterate Goal to be Region’s First Choice for Transportation
LOS ANGELES (July 9, 2024) – Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) Board Chair and City of Whittier Council member Fernando Dutra, L.A. County Supervisor and former Metro Board Chair Janice Hahn and CEO Stephanie Wiggins today reported the progress Metro made toward the agency’s strategic goals in the last fiscal year (FY 2025) and announced its goals for the current fiscal year (FY 2026) at the annual State of the Agency event.
“I’ve learned a lot serving as Chair of the Metro Board this past year, both on the dais and by riding the system regularly myself. I’m proud of the progress we’ve made in making Metro safer for our riders and operators, and of our ability to face the challenges that came our way,” said L.A. County Supervisor and outgoing Board Chair Janice Hahn. “We’ve laid a strong foundation for a world-class system that’s safer, more reliable, and ready for whatever comes next. I’m thankful to my colleagues on the Board and to all of Metro’s employees for the work they do to keep LA County moving every day.”
In May 2025, violent crime dropped 28.9 % per 1 million boardings year-over-year and is now at the lowest levels since May 2019 as a result of the agency increasing the visible presence of engaged uniformed personnel on the system to ensure the system is only being used for transit and increasing partnerships with city, county and community agencies to address societal issues, such as homelessness, untreated mental illness and drug addiction.
Additionally, last December, Metro became the first transit agency in the nation to retrofit its entire active bus fleet with fully enclosed operator barriers, resulting in a 66% decrease in operator assaults in the first three months compared to that time period the previous year.
Other key safety and security initiatives advanced in FY 2025 include an expansion of Metro’s weapons detection pilot program, the successful Tap-to-Exit pilot program, the installation of taller fare gates and the roll out of an enhanced Transit Watch 3.0 app.
Customer experience on Metro continues to improve with results from a February 2025 rider survey showing 87% of customers are satisfied or very satisfied with the service. In that survey, 53% of riders said they had seen improvements to the transit system over the past year, with improving service quality and safety as the top reasons cited for the improvement.
In addition to improving the customer experience, Metro celebrated several key milestones in the past fiscal year. The agency recently opened the LAX/Metro Transit Center, connecting two rail lines and 14 bus lines to LAX Airport; opened the Rail-to-Rail Active Transportation Corridor in South LA, which transformed blighted railroad tracks into a 5.5-mile bike and pedestrian path, with easy access to the A, J, and K Lines, and opened more bus lanes.
Additionally, Metro broke ground on the G Line Improvements Project and the I-105 ExpressLanes Project and attained approval of an $893 million federal grant for the East San Fernando Valley Light Rail project and the advancement of the Southeast Gateway Line and Vermont Transit Corridor projects. In June, Metro also released the draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) for what is arguably the most critical public infrastructure project in America, the Sepulveda Transit Corridor project, beginning the public comment period.
“I am committed to building on the momentum and the public trust created by Metro’s recent safety, equity and customer service initiatives,” said Metro Board Chair and City of Whittier City Council member Fernando Dutra. “I’m equally committed to ensuring we are prepared to keep moving forward on our major projects, including the A Line to Pomona, the D Line Extension, Southeast Gateway Line, the 105 Express Lanes and our highway safety projects. And as we move forward on these critical projects, we need to make sure that locally based companies in engineering, architecture and the many professional services that make this work possible, aren’t just invited to the table – they deserve a real stake in the success of these efforts, including local jobs, local expertise and local opportunity.”
Metro’s ambitious transit infrastructure plan continues to advance as the agency looks to deliver more generational projects in the coming months, including the Metro A Line extension to Pomona and the first section of the Metro D Line subway extension beneath Wilshire Boulevard to the Westside.
In addition to adding more service, Metro is focused on improving the customer experience through new open gangway trains on the subway; new, easier ways to pay; and the development of a new, consolidated mobile app.
“As we advance in our preparations to provide world-class service to riders during the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the Super Bowl in 2027 and the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games, Metro is also leveraging these opportunities to make once-in-a-lifetime investments in the city’s transit infrastructure that will benefit Angelenos for generations to come,” said Metro CEO Stephanie Wiggins. “We want to make transit in LA better for everyone. This is the work we will embark on in the next fiscal year: charging forward as one Metro with one goal – to be Angelenos first choice for transportation.”
About Metro
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) is building the most ambitious transportation infrastructure program in the United States and is working to greatly improve mobility through its Vision 2028 Plan. Metro is the lead transportation planning and funding agency for L.A. County and carries nearly 1 million boardings daily on a fleet of 2,200 low-emission buses and six rail lines.
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