Metro expert shares experiences and LA public transportation future

When L.A. Metro Chief Planning Officer Therese McMillan flew to Los Angeles to begin her job, she was struck by the responsibility of helping almost 10 million people use public transportation.

Her job held such high importance to her that she presented “Juggling Crystal Balls: Tackling LA County’s Transportation Future” Tuesday night at the Price School of Public Policy’s METRANS Transportation Center. McMillan also spoke about the challenges of planning transportation in a time when she said new technology is frequent and disruptive.

“Uber and Lyft have forced us to ask the question: What does public transportation really mean?” McMillan said. “No one knows what will happen in 40 years.”

McMillan also emphasized the importance of closing the opportunity gap for L.A. citizens.

“The customer has to be the foundation of any good planning process,” McMillan said. “It’s not the infrastructure, not the money, but the people we serve.”

Yurida Ramos, a graduate student in the Master of Planning program, works with METRANS and helped organize the event in conjunction with Victoria Deguzman, the Associate Director of Administration for METRANS. Deguzman stressed the importance of public entities in Los Angeles.

“I really enjoy working for a public agency because I like the idea that we are reaching all of our constituents,” Ramos said. “I want to make sure all of our programs are equitable.”

Ramos said she was impressed with McMillan’s view of a nebulous future for public transportation.

“I liked the long range transportation plan model that she has,” Ramos said. “She spoke a lot of truth when she said a lot of people plan for the future when we don’t have all the numbers.”

Fahad Manzur, a senior majoring in economics, said he came to the event because of the links he sees between public transportation, urban development and economic decisions.

“I plan on living in Los Angeles, and I do have troubles with transportation here,” Manzur said. “I think that [McMillan] understands there is a lot of restructuring that needs to happen, and she’s working hard to organize the system.”

Eric Tunell, a graduate student in the Master of Planning program, considered access to public transportation when choosing where to live.

“I prefer to take the train when I can to avoid traffic,” Tunell said. “I’m really happy that Los Angeles seems to be committed to expanding these types of options.”

Tunell also works with METRANS and said he was excited to hear about the new plans for more equitable and community-based transportation.

“[McMillan] thinks in a very comprehensive way about the challenges that Los Angeles faces,” Tunell said. “It’s always exciting to hear a practitioner talk about the real-world applications of what we’re learning in class.”

Correction: A previous version of this article stated that “Juggling Crystal Balls: Tackling LA County’s Transportation Future” was the name of McMillan’s book. It was actually the name of the event. The article also stated Victoria Deguzman was the Assistant Director of Administration for METRANS. She is the associate director. The Daily Trojan regrets the errors.