As the troubling trend in violence on Metro transportation continues across Los Angeles, city officials are set to unveil yet another new pilot program that they say should help mitigate the problem.
It comes just hours after a man was stabbed at a Metro station in Downtown Los Angeles early Tuesday morning. While the suspect was quickly taken into custody, it’s just another in a long string of incidents that have any people on edge when it comes to public transit.
Thought Mayor Karen Bass and other Metro board officials say that security has been beefed up and ridership is trending in the right direction, riders say that the changes just aren’t happening quickly enough for them to feel safe.
“I got punched in the face a couple of months ago by some random guy,” said Luis Escalante, a regular Metro rider. He says that the system is flooded with mentally unstable people. “Every second, every corner. If you take the Metro they are everywhere.”
Wednesday’s program, a detection system designed to locate concealed weapons, will be unveiled at Union Station.
Though it’s still a work in progress and has yet to be approved for the dozens of other Metro stations, riders say that the improved security is more than welcome.
“That would be nice, if they had anything that does anything close to reducing, you know, anything with knives and guns,” Escalante said.
Wednesday’s demonstration is slated for 10 a.m. as Mayor Bass and other city officials continue to make changes ahead of the 2028 Summer Olympics before they head to Los Angeles.
