It’s a new year, but our mission at Metro remains the same in 2016 – to provide excellence in service and support. We hope Metro bus customers will help us achieve our mission by making a New Year’s resolution to attend a Service Council meeting this year.

And there’s no better time to start than January. All five Service Councils will host a Service Planning Workshop to discuss potential changes to Metro bus service over the next two to three years. Public participation is invited and encouraged at each meeting, so come share your feedback and ideas about service in your part of Los Angeles County.

If you live in the Gateway Cities region, consider making an even bigger impact on how Metro bus service is delivered by joining the Gateway Cities Service Council. The Council is charged with helping to make decisions about bus routes and schedules for Metro bus lines operating in the region.

Service Council Bylaws require that nominees live, represent, or work in the region and that they ride public transit at least on a monthly basis. Representatives may be elected officials and/or private citizens. The Gateway Cities Service Council currently meets on the second Thursday of each month at 6 p.m. at Salt Lake Park Community Center in Huntington Park. A map of the Gateway Cities region is available at https://www.metro.net/about/local-service-councils/gwc/. For more information on how to apply for one of the vacant seats, please contact the Gateway Cities Council of Governments at 562-663-6850 or info@gatewaycog.org.

For more information about each Service Council, click on the name of the Council below to view their web page.

In addition to the Service Planning Workshop, all January Service Councils will have the following items on their agendas: Quarterly Station Cleanliness Report and Report on Regional Service Performance. Additional agenda items for specific Councils are listed below.

San Fernando Valley (6:30 p.m., Wednesday, 1/6) – Presentation on Griffith Park Traffic Mobility Plan.

San Gabriel Valley (5 p.m., Monday, 1/11) – No additional presentations.

Westside/Central (5 p.m., Wednesday, WSC 1/13) – Presentation on Griffith Park Traffic Mobility Plan.

Gateway Cities (6 p.m., Thursday, 1/14) –  Recognition of GWC Service Councilmember Cynde Soto.

South Bay (9:30 a.m., Friday, 1/8) – No additional presentations.

For a detailed listing of all Council meeting dates, times and locations, click here. As always, the public is encouraged to attend and share their comments with the Service Councils on improving bus service throughout LA County. If you would like to provide input to a Council but cannot attend a meeting, you can submit your comments in writing through the Service Council web page or send them to service councils@metro.net. If your comments are for a specific Council, please make sure to indicate which one you are addressing in your e-mail.