The Long Beach Transit Gallery, which occupies the entire south side of First Street between Long Beach Boulevard and Pine Avenue, is the first location bus passengers and drivers see when they arrive Downtown. To help provide a good welcome, the Gallery’s restrooms are kept clean by a six-person crew that works almost 24 hours a day under a third-party contract between DLBA and Long Beach Transit.
“It’s not an easy job, but it is a job our Restroom Hosts take great pride in,” said Steve Be Cotte, Community Outreach Manager for DLBA. “Some of our Hosts have been at this job for five or six years.”
Clean Team member J.R. Babb is ready to freshen up the Transit Gallery restrooms.
There are two public restrooms in the Transit Gallery, and two more in the adjoining driver’s lounge. Restroom Hosts overseen by DLBA Clean and Safe Team Program Manager Sergio Andrades maintain them continuously – mopping, replenishing supplies, and quickly addressing the occasional mechanical breakdown. Three mornings per week, the restrooms are pressure washed with 200-degree water.
With the exception of a one-hour shutdown at 1:30 a.m. every morning, the Transit Gallery restrooms are open all day and night.
“We appreciate the partnership with DLBA to keep the Transit Gallery restrooms clean,” said Michael Gold, Long Beach Transit’s Executive Director and Vice President of Customer Relations and Communications. “As the transportation hub of Long Beach,” Gold continued, “the Transit Gallery normally serves many customers traveling around the community and to places beyond. As a result of our partnership, the Restroom Host team keeps the public restrooms clean and welcoming for customers.”
Clean Team member Jesse Garcia prepares to pressure wash the Transit Gallery restrooms.
Restroom Hosts also play a public relations role, handing out maps and answering questions from inside a mobile mini-kiosk parked in front of the Transit Information Center at the western end of the Transit Gallery. This service has been curtailed temporarily due to the current public health concerns.
“Being a Transit Gallery Restroom Host is not a glamorous job,” said Be Cotte, “but it is certainly an essential service. The Hosts are front-line ambassadors for Downtown Long Beach and the entire City.”