Rep. Simon introduces a bill to nationalize BART’s ambassador program

Final week, Rep. Lateefah Simon convened a convention on the nineteenth Road BART station in Oakland to introduce a federal invoice that would have main implications for transit security.

There, Simon, who represents Oakland and different East Bay cities in Congress, introduced that she had launched the Fast Intervention and Deterrence for Enhanced Rider Security Act, or RIDER Security Act, which might enable transit businesses throughout the nation to faucet federal crime prevention funds to pay for “transit assist specialists” as a substitute of simply legislation enforcement officers.

The main focus of those lanes is on de-escalation and disaster response for riders susceptible to harming themselves or others, within the spirit of Oakland’s MACRO program, launched in 2022, and BART’s ambassador and disaster intervention roles, created in 2020 whereas Simon served on the BART board.

The text of the invoice, launched in November and presently debated within the Congressional Subcommittee on Highways and Transit, says these unarmed roles will work with legislation enforcement businesses to discourage and report disruptive habits, help with medical emergencies and handle minor, non-criminal conflicts.

“We assist all our riders,” Simon mentioned on the morning convention as riders walked by. “An built-in strategy was desperately wanted. And now we wish to unfold that mannequin throughout the nation. Transit Ambassadors ease the burden on sworn officers, permitting them to give attention to pressing security and violent crime.”

Simon talked about BART’s latest announcement that crime has occurred inside the system decreased by 41% over the previous 12 months, with that success due partly to the collaboration between sworn officers and transit ambassadors. BART had beforehand mentioned the decline was largely because of the new, modernized gates, however on the information convention, BART Board President Melissa Hernandez mentioned it’s “individuals, sworn officers and unarmed personnel, working collectively that make the most important distinction.”

“The RIDER Security Act helps us broaden our unarmed presence. Riders have mentioned loud and clear that they need security, cleanliness and reliability. This invoice helps us ship the most secure BART potential,” Hernandez mentioned.

Victor Flores, a BART director who represents elements of Oakland, mentioned the social work background of those civilian forces makes a distinction.

“Within the final quarter alone, our workforce related 300 individuals to providers and carried out greater than 1,600 wellness checks,” Flores mentioned. “Security is about attendance, partnership and making certain all riders really feel snug utilizing BART.”

Specialists ‘can present higher assist’ to people who find themselves unhoused

That quarterly reportinglaunched on December 4, 2025, reveals that the police deployed a disaster intervention specialist – an envoy – 206 occasions between July and September final 12 months. However that quantity is the tip of the iceberg. One other measure, Calls Diverted, signifies how typically a specialist personally handles a scenario that beforehand would have gone to the police, and was 2,591 for the quarter.

That is what the report mentioned LaFamilia And Community Services in the Bay Area obtain probably the most referrals from BART Ambassadors amongst Alameda County suppliers.

Earlier work by UCLA researchers Transit ambassador applications that focus on unhoused individuals have discovered that these applications are typically extra profitable at offering referrals than police.

In one study from 2021scientists discovered that ambassadors had higher experience within the wants of unhoused people and that the applications had cost-sharing advantages. “These collaborations intention to attach individuals experiencing homelessness to the broader social service system, which works past what operators straight handle and may higher present assist and assist,” the researchers wrote.

A December 2025 A examine centered on the Los Angeles-area subway system discovered that ambassadors spent most of their time de-escalating, administering Narcan to stop overdoses and orienting passengers. Additionally they discovered that whereas the ambassadors “seemed to be making a constructive contribution to the system,” this system nonetheless wanted many enhancements, together with coaching in battle decision.

“Whereas the contractor mannequin was fast to implement and replicate, it created various employment disadvantages through the pilot section, together with paying beneath the residing wage, lack of office sources and experiences of harsh working situations,” the report abstract mentioned.

We requested BART spokesperson Alicia Trost if the company had completed its personal experiences on the ambassador program, since it’s now one of many oldest within the nation. She mentioned there have been no analytical experiences, however the company supplied information in all experiences quarterly BART report as a efficiency measure.

One of the vital hanging items of knowledge we have seen from the final two years’ experiences is the variety of welfare checks these specialists have carried out over the winter months. Between January and March 2024, ambassadors carried out 3,593 welfare checks, and in the identical interval a 12 months earlier they carried out 4,195.

A lot of research have proven the dangerous results police encounters with people colorsparticularly black individuals, so any program that tries to cut back the variety of these encounters will possible result in lowering such damaging outcomes. A report final 12 months from the Heart for Policing Fairness, a nonprofit analysis middle at Yale, discovered that BART’s personal law enforcement officials and different fare enforcement operations had a detrimental impact on Black and Brown and low-income passengers by making them really feel much less protected.

On the convention on Friday, one of many company’s disaster intervention specialists, Rahman Bagby, who mentioned he had beforehand labored as a machinist, mentioned he appreciated being a part of a program he thought of “compassionate.”

“Many individuals we encounter are going through housing insecurity, substance abuse and psychological well being points,” Bagby mentioned. “This battle humanizes them. We meet individuals with humility and finish each contact with respect. Security is a civil proper and everybody’s civil rights should be revered.”

AC Transit Director Joel Younger mentioned on the convention that if the invoice passes, the company would search to make use of unarmed ambassadors on the bus specific line that runs from downtown Oakland by way of Worldwide Boulevard to San Leandro.

Madeline Brozen, affiliate director of UCLA’s Lewis Heart for Regional Coverage Research, who has labored on disaster ambassador research, informed The Oaklandside that Simon’s invoice was a “helpful step” to assist pay for extra transit ambassadors.

“Establishments want the flexibleness and confidence to make use of federal funds to pay for this new form of function in order that if an indication is profitable, they will proceed to make use of these funds to construct a program.”