The Board of Directors for the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Agency on Thursday voted to approve a plan that would get them closer to implementing and launching an in-house safety department.
That means staffers would work on and later present a plan for the board to consider.
If the plan is approved, the in-house safety department would replace contracts with the Los Angeles Police Department, the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department and the Long Beach Police Department which are currently in charge of patrolling Metro buses, trains and stations.
The plan would allow Metro to discipline officers and deploy them in areas where they are most needed.
Chairman Ara Najarian called the plan “logical” and a “modest step forward.”
“It’s a real opportunity to take a very, very bold step,” board member and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said.
The decision comes as calls are being made to strengthen safety aboard public transit.
On Thursday, a bus driver in Venice was stabbed by a suspect who was later taken into custody. It was after the second attack on a Metro driver in a month.
On May 24, a 61-year-old bus driver was stabbed in Woodland Hills after an argument about fare evasion, police said. A 17-year-old was arrested in the attack.
Additionally, officials said overdose deaths, thefts, robberies and aggravated assaults on Metro buses and trains have significantly increased.
Some riders, however, expressed concerns over creating a new department.
“It’s a waste of public resources to spend money on police response that is already covered by local neighborhood patrol,” a speaker said during Thursday’s meeting.
Members said the in-house agency would reduce administrative costs.
The plan will be presented to the board next January.