Officials from the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County unveiled a new regional mobility plan on Feb. 24 that focuses on improving customer-centric services, increasing transit ridership and addressing issues such as safety, cleanliness, accessibility and reliability.
What's happening
METRO Board Chair Elizabeth Gonzalez Brock addressed the transportation agency’s shift in strategy during the news conference.
“We are calling this set of initiatives METRONow because before we develop anything else, we are going to take care of some crucial issues, fundamental issues, now,” Brock said.
Brock said she understands how METRO's low ridership numbers are impacted by customers feeling safe on public transit. As part of the organization's initiative to prioritize safety, Brock said they appointed a new police chief, Ban Tien, who will develop a workforce deployment strategy in order to staff more police on buses and trains.
Tien will be working with the Houston Police Department, the Harris County Sheriff's department, constables and other law enforcement agencies, Brock said. Mayor John Whitmire said METRO's public safety partnerships are initiatives "headed in the right direction."
"Every great city has a very viable, successful public transit system...so we're going to address a user-friendly METRO," Whitmire said.
Brock said the new board of directors are “laser focused” on ensuring all they do ties to ridership and mobility.
“We had to make tough choices in order to optimize taxpayer dollars and limited resources,” Brock said.
The details
In addition to increased officer presence on public transit, METRO officials will also improve cleanliness by deploying street sweepers and vacuum trucks to keep bus stops, rail platforms and transit centers clean, according to a news release. An estimated 700 additional bus stops are being earmarked to be fully ADA accessible by the end of fiscal year 2025.
Other infrastructure projects include repairing hazardous sidewalks, crosswalks and streets while also refreshing aging METRO facilities. METRO officials will be also adding an additional 350 buses and replacing 100 METROLift vehicles.
