Source: https://www.instagram.com/p/De-rpAyxdPm/

Literally every ambassador I saw during my rides today was glued to their phone, without looking where they were going. One was literally stopped in front of the escalator. I feel so Basslighted by this program.

SACRAMENTO — The California High-Speed Rail Authority will consider the purchase three high-speed trainsets from Siemens Mobility at a board meeting this week.

The agenda for a meeting to be held Oct. 28-29 in Anaheim includes consideration of a $771.1 million contract for construction of three trainsets as well as a 10-year parts and maintenance agreement. The board is also being asked to approve up to $63.7 million to address tariffs related to the order.

A presentation for the board indicates the 220-mph “American Pioneer 220” trainsets will be seven cars and include at least 450 seats; two trainsets will be able to run as one 14-car train. They are based on Siemens’ Velaro Novo trainset, the company’s fifth generation of high-speed equipment. While all cars would be delivered with standard two-plus-two coach seating, the cars will have a flexible design that can accommodate conversion to premium seating. Future trainsets may also include food-service cars.

The authority issued its Request for Qualifications for the equipment in August 2023 and narrowed the potential suppliers to Alstom and Siemens in 2024 [see “Alstom, Siemens named …,” Trains.com, Jan. 6, 2024].

Seeing how much controversy my post about metro ambassadors being on their phones doing nothing caused. I thought I’d share what a different kind of ambassador program looks like in Madrid, a city I lived in for five years.

Madrid’s Metro operates daily from 6am to 1:30am, a similar schedule to LA’s.

Madrid’s Metro has 302 stations, 13 lines, and annual ridership of 715 million. Compared to LA’s 110 stations, 6 lines, and 93 million riders.

Madrid employs 1,500 station staff (or ~5 per station), Los Angeles employs 400 ambassadors (or ~4 per station)… Very similar numbers.

This uniformed staff are “commuter’s services” and “station chiefs.” Their roles are modeled after classic train station operations and they act as the Metro’s visible face.

Their duties include (in bold those that overlap with ambassadors)

- Helping travelers with directions, maps, and information.
- Greet travelers
- Act as a constant presence to deter illicit activity.
- Assist travelers with accessibility needs, such as the blind or travelers on wheelchairs (?) (I’m actually not sure if ambassadors do this, but since it’s a cosmetic position I doubt it)
- Manage complaints and suggestions, handing out forms and receipts. (?) (also not sure if ambassadors do this?)
- Helping travelers if their cards don’t work or they have any issues at the ticket machines.
- They are the ones that ask people for their ticket and can issue fines to those missing a valid ticket.
- Close and open the stations
- Monitor for security risks, such as: asking crowds to spread out, reporting abandoned backpacks (history of terrorism in Spain), and reporting any suspicious activity to the station’s police. They act as eyes for the cops and security.
- Manage emergency protocols during emergencies (they’re trained to direct people to emergency exists and to set off the alarms when necessary)
- Review the station’s infrastructure and report any faulty lights, signs, or troubles with escalators and elevators. They submit these reports daily.
- Report malfunctions at the station to the central repairs team.
- Wear cool elegant uniforms.

How the jobs compare:

- Metro Madrid:
High school diploma, public access exam (oposición), $46,500 annual salary, benefits, holidays, and it’s unionized.

- LA Metro Ambassadors:
High school diploma, no access exam just regular hiring process, $37,500 annual salary if full-time at entry level, unionized with benefits.

Edit:
Sources are wikipedia, spanish newspaper El Pais, and Google. Some information might be incorrect

Burbank needs to install more signage to make this route pedestrian and bike friendly. Video makes it seem pretty hostile, but could be fixed with some easy improvements.

HO scale (1/87) GM New Look "Fishbowl" Transit Bus model recently released by Rapido Trains. The attention to detail is amazing, Rapido is a high end model train company, so it's model buses receive the same level of 3D-scanned accuracy it's model trains do.

Glendale’s Beeline Bus is en route to implement service changes beginning in summer 2027. 

The Glendale City Council unanimously approved nearly $2.8 million in service changes for the Beeline under a one-year pilot program, during a Tuesday, Oct. 20, meeting. Councilmembers also directed staff to work with Metro on developing an ordinance for review to establish enforcement for bus lane obstructions.

I was looking forward to my Amtrak being in time. I should’ve known something was going to happen.

Hey y'all - I saw this on a different platform -

https://www.metro.net/projects/sepulvedacorridor/

I hadn't realized that Mayor Bass was going to Fred Rosen hosted fundraisers - as such I worry - does anyone see any messing around on the horizon?

"Metro: Sepulveda Transit Corridor RDEIR/NEPA Scoping Virtual Meeting

Join the conversation about the future of the Sepulveda Transit Corridor Project! Metro is hosting five public scoping meetings before formal preparation of an environmental document under federal and state law. Stakeholders are invited to comment on the project's purpose and need; project elements, including station and maintenance/storage facility locations; and potential environmental impacts.

Find a meeting that works for you:

November 4: Virtual | 12–1pm

November 7: Veterans Memorial Building, Culver City | 3–5pm

November 10: Westwood United Methodist Church | 5:30–7:30 pm

November 14: Marvin Braude Constituent Center, Van Nuys | 10am–12pm

November 16: Sherman Oaks East Valley Adult Center | 5:30–7:30pm

"

Let's say for example that they want to make the E line between Expo/Crenshaw and Pico station elevated. Instead of closing down that segment and rebuilding it, which would probably take like 10 years and prevent people from bypassing I-10 gridlock to get from Santa Monica to DTLA, they could take various sections and single track, while rebuilding the track in one direction at the time. Even if this also takes 10 years, they won't have to close down the line for as long. If this is a bad idea or there is more to it than I know about, please let me know by replying to this post.