‘We give them second chances’: the frontline workers guiding riders through LA’s transit system

In the 18 months Gilberto Morales has spent working for the Los Angeles Metro, the 23-year-old has administered Narcan to someone overdosing twice, helped riders who had fallen off train platforms and offered an ear to people experiencing mental health crises.

But most of the time, his days consist of surveying the stations in the Los Angeles transit system and helping riders reach their destinations.

Morales is one of Metro’s almost 350 ambassadors – outreach workers in bright lime green jackets whose friendly faces have become staples in the city’s sprawling transit system.

Metro launched the program as a pilot in September 2022, at a moment of colliding crises. The pandemic had caused ridership on public transit across the country including LA, to plummet and the beleaguered system initially struggled to rebound amid a rise in violent crime, attacks on workers and growing concerns over homelessness. At the same time, the city had increasingly been studying alternatives to law enforcement to improve public safety.

Since the program’s launch, ambassadors serving the system’s 1 million riders have had a million interactions and saved more than 250 lives, according to officials, from people experiencing drug overdoses to medical emergencies. Transit riders have reported marked improvements at key stations – including the city’s famed Union Station. A survey from last year found that 63% of passengers reported feeling safer when they see ambassadors. And the program has been praised by local activists, who have asked Metro to expand the number of ambassadors.

The success of the program and its ability to improve perceptions of public safety on the Metro could play a key role in growing ridership in the car-dependent city of 4 million, where few people utilize public transportation and many believe that public transit is unsafe. If Metro finds an effective approach, it could serve as an example to other cities, such as New York, where a recent spate of high-profile violence has fueled fears about the subway system. New York state recently deployed the national guard on to city trains.

For ambassadors like Morales, who joined the program at its inception two years ago, it’s all about helping people. “I like helping people,” Morales said. “We are customer service, we help with directions and everything, giving them different resources that we have in the system.”

***

On a recent Wednesday morning, Morales and his colleague Richard Nguyen took me from Union Station, a landmark in the heart of the city and the biggest terminal in the American west, to the historic Bunker Hill station in one of the oldest parts of LA’s downtown.

They surveyed the walls of the platform, looked for graffiti, made sure elevators and escalators were working and chatted with riders. Nguyen announced the incoming trains in a booming baritone.

“Sometimes it’s almost like my own stage theater,” the 30-year-old said.

Both Morales and Nguyen had experience riding Metro before they became ambassadors. Morales was previously employed at a park where he was used to working with people and decided to apply for the ambassador position.

“When I saw this job was open, I said it’s kind of the same thing, and I get to work with Metro, maybe just let me just try my luck,” he said. “And here I am.”

Karen Parks, Metro’s senior director of special projects who oversees the initiative, explained the type of person Metro sought out for its program: “We wanted a care-based uniform presence with lived experience to represent the ridership that rides our system,” she said.

Ambassadors receive a three-week training that covers everything from mental health to de-escalation tactics before officially hitting the platform.

“Our key focus is the customer experience – enhancing the journey. Ambassadors are our additional eyes and ears. We support our riders and safety. We connect riders to resources. And we report incidents on our system,” Parks said.

Ambassadors conduct wellness checks on passengers. While riding a train headed to Little Tokyo, in one of the only Japantowns in the US, Morales sees a person who appears asleep, lying down on the seats.

“Because I saw him move his leg, I know he’s awake and he’s conscious,” he said, adding that he didn’t need to wake him. “When they don’t wake up, we start to look for signs they are overdosing.”

Every ambassador carries Narcan and has received training on how to use it. Morales used it for the first time shortly after he started carrying it, administering four doses to a man who was unconscious and turning purple before he regained consciousness, he recalled while working at the city’s Little Tokyo station. A few weeks later, he used it on the same person.

“We give them second chances. He [needed] more help but we try to connect them with help,” Morales said. “Stuff like that does get to you. It takes a lot to do. It’s not an easy task.”

One ambassador reported using Narcan to help ailing passengers 21 times in 15 months, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Some of the lives they have saved are people who were experiencing mental health challenges or are at risk of harming themselves. Some people are vocal about their intentions while others display particular signs ambassadors look for. “They kind of linger. It’s something you feel,” Morales said.

Before becoming a supervisor, Nguyen helped a person on a platform who was struggling, he said. “I talked him out of it. I sat down with him, talked to him for a good one and a half hours, connected with him, introduced myself, and [got] him the help he needed.

“We hopped on the train and [I said] let’s meet some people that can help you.”

They occasionally encounter aggressive people, Morales said. Earlier this year, an ambassador was assaulted by a rider at the Little Tokyo station.

But by and large people are kind and appreciative, Morales said. Oftentimes people who lash out will come and apologize later, he said. And what sticks out most in his memory are the people he’s helped, riders who were lost or an unhoused woman he helped get food who tracked him down weeks later to offer a gift.

“It almost made me cry,” he said. “Then I saw her again. And then she said that she has an apartment now. And she’s doing way better.”

Related: California socialite receives 15 years to life for fatally striking two boys with car

As Morales and Nguyen stood on the platform a man carrying a guitar came to ask for help, and they guided him to an elevator.

“Thank you – I’m going to make you a song,” he said, smiling as the elevator doors closed.

***

Less visible than the ambassadors’ interactions with riders, is the data aspect of their jobs.

Nguyen and Morales are constantly logging their interactions with riders on tablets and flagging bigger issues for police, while providing real-time feedback to Metro.

Data collection is a crucial part of the program, Parks said.

Ambassadors track every engagement and incident, and where they occur, which is how Metro calculated that the workers have had 1 million interactions with passengers, Parks said. The information helps the system figure out what kind of problems different stations are facing and where more resources are needed.

There are currently about 346 ambassadors working within Metro, on two different shifts, meaning between 6am and 10pm, Monday through Friday, and 8am to 10pm on the weekends, there are roughly 125 of the workers deployed on city trains and buses.

Past listings for the role have said that ambassadors are responsible for identifying potentially unsafe situations and reporting them to Metro and law enforcement, who ambassadors work closely with. While ambassadors play a role in public safety, they are not a substitute for law enforcement, Parks said.

“We were never to replace law enforcement, we have a clear role,” Parks said. “[Law enforcement] are vital to our system. But [they] come at a huge cost and they can’t be everywhere.”

Until now, the ambassador program has been a pilot, but Metro has announced plans to make it permanent.

Parks expects the program to mostly stay the same, though Metro might expand hours and increase training for ambassadors, particularly around human trafficking. She’s hopeful that the program, along with recent changes in the system, could change the perception of Metro. A recent survey found that those who ride Metro tend to think it is safer than those who do not.

“Once people ride our system and see that it’s easy to do, then they feel more comfortable in doing that,” she said.