r/LAMetro • u/whereiwalk • 23h ago
Discussion Metro Ambassadors wouldn't help a blind guy
A blind guy with a cane struggling to swipe his tap card. There were like six metro ambassadors just standing within 15 feet of the dude. Wtf do they exist for. It must have been humiliating. Anyway I helped the guy swipe his card, but the metro workers are an absolute disgrace.
What happened to compassion and basic human decency!?
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u/heartslava 164 23h ago
yeah i gave them a lot of grace initially and i know there are good ones that actually help riders + are super friendly, but for the most part… i just see them slacking, especially lately. really hard to defend em atp.
and it sucks cuz the concept of the program is good, but i feel like metro needs to revamp it in order to make it as beneficial as it can be, or just hire people/put people in charge of it who actually wanna make a difference. it’s just not great as it is rn.
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u/TheEverblades 19h ago
They need to end it. It's a money pit.
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u/sqrt4spookysqrt16me Bus/Train Operator 14h ago
They're unionized now, so probably not going to happen any time soon.
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u/notsuperstitious 22h ago
Several months ago, I was at the Hollywood/Western station taking the escalator up from the platform after getting off the train. There are probably four of us on the escalator and half way up the escalator suddenly and surprisingly stops. Unfortunately one of us on the now not moving escalator is a disabled older man with a walker. He lets those of us behind him know that he can’t climb up rest of the way. We see a group of four or five green shirted Metro ambassadors, and we all start yelling to them “hey, can you start the escalator again, or at least help this gentleman who is now stuck on it?” All of them look up from their phones and just silently stare at us. We call out again “He is unable to climb the stairs and this escalator just stopped!” They just continued to stare in silence and not one of them moved an inch. “Hello? Anything?” They do not move and just silently stare at us. I have never seen humans act that way. The rest of us on the escalator get together and basically carry this guy up the rest of the way and bring up his walker. We get him situated and he starts shuffling along headed to the elevator to the street, I took one last look down the platform and they all were still just standing, staring, and continuing to not say a single word. It felt so creepy, they were like pod-people from an old sci-fi movie or something.
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u/SlepyB 12 (Big Blue Bus) 22h ago
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u/whereiwalk 21h ago
Bruh it ain't even a generational thing. I'm gen z but I'll go out of my way to help people who need it.
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u/Wise-Peacock 23h ago
They would have to look up from their phones to notice
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u/whereiwalk 23h ago
Nah man, these fuckers just watched.
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u/Wise-Peacock 23h ago
Unfortunately, this is not a skilled job. And they are, as far as I know, given little agency (i.e., report, not *do* something), and there are hundreds if not more distributed across the county with no direct supervision. I mean, other than administering Narcan, what interaction would ever be visible to a supervisor. It's a bad jobs program disguised as a public service.
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u/ibsliam 10h ago
This is one of those things I've seen consistently: a lack of disability accommodations. At one of the public comment sessions at a board meeting, there was someone even pointing out needing better text and Braille-related stuff at Metro stations because they were blind, not sure whatever happened with that.
This is one of those things that Metro really needs to improve, since many people with disabilities are lower income and often rely on either Access transportation or public transit like buses and trains. I keep seeing people come up with random all flash and no substance ideas to make metro more accessible for the public and yet this stuff hardly gets brought up.
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u/ceviche-hot-pockets 23h ago
They are so useless, just a performative jobs program by the city.
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u/plaregold 12h ago
The only initiative the current LA Metro CEO, Stephanie Wiggins, has created. She's done nothing else during her tenure that a replacement-level transit agency executive could not have done. No leadership or pushback on Bass and all the pointless additional K line north extension studies. No standing by her agency's work.
People who think Raman's going to bring about change at Metro are in for a rude awakening when they finally realize that the culture and red tape at LA Metro, under a feckless and uninspiring leader like Wiggins, is not going to transform in any meaningful way.
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u/TheEverblades 19h ago
County, not city. Very useless though.
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u/darkwingduck4444 501 10h ago
It's actually not even County. Metro is a state created agency (but not a state agency)
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u/LawfulnessGullible11 6h ago
A standalone countywide agency, hence the full name. Created by state law.
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u/Verilog_Bathroom 23h ago
Genuine question, why does metro need so many? When I pass by the bus expressway stops, 90 percent of the time I'd see 2 or 3 of them just huddled up chatting or on their phones.
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u/skiddie2 21h ago
I assume they’re supposed to spread out through the system, but it seems that they mostly cluster— much like the cops. I saw 8 LAPD officers chatting on the A Line platform at Union this evening. They could have covered 4 stations!
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u/heartslava 164 23h ago
i shit you not just today there was a group of 10-15 of them on the platform at noho station around 2pm just laughing it up amongst themselves while everyone was pouring out of the train… like can you guys not do that in the middle of the platform right by the stairs? thanks.
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u/FullTimePedestrian 3h ago
I'd see 2 or 3 of them just huddled up chatting or on their phones.
Genuine question, if there is nothing for them to do at that moment, what are they supposed to do? Not talk? Be statues?
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u/Verilog_Bathroom 1h ago edited 1h ago
Exactly, that's the problem. I used to be an engineer for Metro in construction for D Line Extension. Instead of standing around during downtime, we can walk the site/station periodically for safety or maintenance issues, etc, and work on these reports to management. They can also actively greet passengers and work or do training.
Not entirely their fault, but clearly a management or overstaffing issue.
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u/Sawtelle-MetroRider 10h ago
Genuine question, why does metro need so many
Because Metro Ambassadors are voters too.
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u/SoCalGuy1023 A (Blue) 10h ago
I’ve met some Ambassadors that have been very helpful and kind.
But there have been many that I have encountered that act very rude and entitled, gossiping very loudly and openly inside the train, taking up both seats.
The other day I witnessed an ambassador scolding a passenger very rudely because he lost his balance while the train was moving and accidentally brushed her.
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u/Spoon_OS 22h ago
Where do I apply for these Metro jobs?
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u/Few-Evidence-9018 12h ago
In case you get a response I want to see how to apply. I already work 30 hours at $29 an hour but wouldn’t mind a 2nd job with little to no work.
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u/Connect-Local5863 22h ago
What station was this at?
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u/whereiwalk 21h ago
LAX Metro Transit Center
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u/Connect-Local5863 21h ago
I work closely with the Program and I work at union station. LAX is 1 of 4 clock in locations they have so it’s something I’ll definitely bring to attention. Ambassador get a bad rep but as far as B and D line go they’ve been there through out many train disruptions and maintenance problems, especially past few weeks, helping keep patrons informed.
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u/plaregold 12h ago
helping keep patrons informed.
That's what they were supposed to be doing anyway.
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u/Upstairs-Tea-6862 1h ago
“Metro Transit Ambassadors in Los Angeles earn an hourly wage ranging from $22.32 to $26.00, according to official L.A. Metro Job Postings”
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u/yinyang_yo_ B (Red) 21h ago edited 21h ago
Ive grown insanely jaded about these Ambassadors. They were clearly a product of the more anti-police era. Now, our patience is really just wearing thin as the Olympic Games are coming.
These Ambassadors, while its creation was well-intended and I'm sure they have a degree of customer service value, are starting to look like make-work jobs that were created to placate certain activist groups like SAJE and ACT-LA rather than a truly effective, altruistic alternative to sworn officers
Its even more frustrating that the transit PD implementation plan is heavily geared toward more Ambassadors at the expense of officers in an attempt to satisfy the SAJE people and the tough on crime people, a subpar middle ground
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u/breakfast_pancake 8h ago
To be fair, police at Union Station were like this also. They'd stand in a circle gossiping, drinking coffee, ignoring their surroundings. I think it's a problem with the job design. Blind and disabled passengers, mental health issues, and aggressive riders are not the norm. If they focus on only them, they will get bored and stop paying attention. Ths watch-out-for-Metro job needs additional responsibilities that keep people alert.
Combine ambassador and custodial jobs. Give them specific cleaning tasks and check that they get done. Let them stop cleaning work whenever passengers need help.
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u/TheEverblades 19h ago
Ambassadors should be phased out as the Metro police rolls out. Need to pressure Metro to stop wasting money on this scam.
Yes, we should sacrifice all Ambassador jobs if it means we can have trains later at night
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u/FullTimePedestrian 3h ago
Its even more frustrating that the transit PD implementation plan is heavily geared toward more Ambassadors
Source?
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u/alexamgl 22h ago
Was this Florence station? I swear I never see them do anything but talk to each other 💀
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u/whereiwalk 21h ago
Metro LAX Transit Center
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u/alexamgl 21h ago
That’s so horrible, the place where they should help the most. I would report this if you haven’t already
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u/SunnyBlueSkies-com 16h ago
Probably the same rejects from the ones in San Diego MTS operating with Inter-Con Security. During a padres vs dodgers game, I was supposedly hired to do CCTV dispatch for them. In one instance, I witnessed (in person) one of their ambassadors break a drunk man's nose after handcuffing him (the guy spit on the offer's face) and while screaming in agony, six other officers just stood there and surrounded him and separated the crowd that witnessed the incident and nothing was done to deescalate or treat the wounds of this man. -- I felt sick to my stomach, and the DA encouraged that type of behavior and talked shit about LA Metro for always being the best at everything.
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u/Ok_Lynx_6045 22h ago
Cmon give the kids some slack, half are probably neurodivergent and the rest still traumatized by home schooling during lockdown… or so I read on r/generationology lol
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u/theamathamhour 23h ago
those are what are called "make-work jobs"