Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board of Directors Chairwoman and County Supervisor Hilda Solis

Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Chair Hilda L. Solis, 1st District, has been named as the new chair of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board of Directors. She succeeded outgoing board chair and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, whose term ended on June 30.

Solis said she intends to focus her attention as chair on three priorities: supporting transit riders, ensuring an equitable recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic and reimagining the agency’s highway investments. Solis also said she will advocate for the region’s most disadvantaged communities.

“As congestion worsens and more people gain access to cars, bus riders, particularly among Black and Latinx communities, suffer the most,” Solis said.  “Bus riders, who have median annual incomes of less than $18,000, comprise some of the most disadvantaged communities in L.A. County that have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic. Transit riders need better service, and they need it now. To provide better service, Metro needs to invest more funding in operations, homelessness outreach and alternatives to law enforcement.”

Solis also noted that over the last three decades, Southern California has experienced a surge in vehicle ownership.

“When buses are stuck in traffic, travel times increase and reliability worsens,” she said. “It’s not surprising that Metro’s bus ridership has declined year over year.”

Solis also expressed a need for more affordable housing to serve transit riders and to prevent further displacement among low-income and vulnerable communities. In promoting an equitable recovery, Solis said she is committed to creating solutions that will help low income communities and small businesses rebound from the pandemic.

“With a housing crisis that makes it challenging to live in Los Angeles County, transportation serves as a critical tool in helping residents get around. And as housing becomes more expensive, commutes are becoming longer and more arduous,” Solis said. “Metro must use the land that it will acquire as part of upcoming capital projects to quickly build more affordable housing to help prevent future displacement and to better serve our most vulnerable transit riders.”

In reimagining Metro’s Highway Program, Solis said traditional highway widening projects often bring displacement and pollution to neighborhoods that are already overburdened with housing insecurity and health disparities. Solis’ leadership on the Metro board coincides with the recent appointment of Stephanie Wiggins as Metro’s new CEO, marking the first time in Metro’s 28-year history that both the board chair and CEO are women, a new agency milestone.

“Supervisor Solis has been a champion of public transportation, equity and inclusion throughout her career,” Wiggins said. “She is a trailblazer on the forefront of L.A. County’s efforts to advance equity and diversity initiatives across the region. I am thrilled to work with her in the coming year as we spearhead innovative ways to support Metro’s transit riders and advance an equitable recovery for L.A. County.”

For information, visit metro.net.