A program that placed community ambassadors at the entrance of Muni’s Chinatown-Rose Pak station, who are usually seen greeting and helping some of the transit system’s oldest riders, ended Monday.
The Chinatown Community Youth Center (CYC) partnered with the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency to hire 12 bilingual ambassadors for the station to help guide and assist Muni riders entering and exiting the new station. However, the SFMTA did not renew the program for the 2025–26 fiscal year, which began Tuesday, due to the agency’s bleak budget outlook.
Days before the program’s conclusion, Mayor Daniel Lurie, Director of Transportation Julie Kirschbaum, and District 3 Supervisor Danny Sauter celebrated the 12 ambassadors and presented them with commendations last Wednesday.
“You’ve shown up to this neighborhood day after day, and your service has made a huge impact,” Lurie said. “Whether you were offering directions or simply greeting someone with a smile, you brought energy and care to one of San Francisco’s most iconic places, Chinatown.”
CYC pointed out that community ambassadors have helped riders with Muni-related issues, answering questions from tourists, but also played a critical role in assisting monolingual senior Muni riders. One example given was when an elderly woman fell while attempting to use one of the escalators when the elevator was out of service. An ambassador was able to prevent further injury, helped translate for the woman, and waited until emergency medical services arrived.
Tony Ng, who has served as an ambassador for years, said they have served the community by assisting Muni riders, answering questions about the new Central Subway, helping senior riders when elevators are not working, and promoting Chinatown to tourists by providing recommendations on where to dine and shop.
“It became a community hub where people came for help when they felt unsafe or when they just wanted a friendly conversation,” Ng said. He told the mayor he did not want to see the program end. “I plead to Mayor Lurie to find ways to continue programs like this,” he said.
Sarah Wan, the executive director of CYC, said at the height of the pandemic that CYC and the SFMTA trained the community ambassadors at the station to support safety and rebuild trust in public transit.
Despite the conclusion of the ambassador program, which began in 2012 before the station was built, as a way to help navigate Chinatown residents and visitors around the construction site, Wan said the day was to celebrate the work of the ambassadors.
“Over the years, these committee ambassadors became the face of safety and reassurance,” Wan said. “We celebrate the dozens of ambassadors who show up day after day to serve. They have made this neighborhood and this city better.”
