Metro Transit replacing its Green Line trains with buses between 2 and 4 a-m on weekdays eliminates an option for significant numbers of homeless people who have been sleeping on board in the early morning hours. Metro Transit’s Howie Padilla says keeping homeless people from spending overnight on the trains “absolutely was not the primary reason” for the change in service hours. He says, “One thing this has really done is really ramped up those discussions, especially as people are looking forward to the winter and the cold months. What’s gonna happen then?”
Padilla indicates Metro Transit is looking for partnerships with other agencies to assist homeless people. He says the Metro Transit Police Department has a “homeless action team” — six officers whose job is to work overnight and try to connect people with shelters and other services.