Safety for All

Incidents of harassment, crime, and violence on or near mass transit compromise riders’ safety, degrade their experience, and reduce utilization. Historically, transit agencies have sought to use a police presence to create a sense of safety and security. While police help reduce violent crime, the over-reliance on police for routine safety issues often makes riders less safe, and police response to “code of conduct” issues like putting feet on seats, eating food, or not paying fare is consistently discriminatory against Black and brown riders and regularly escalates into incidents of brutality. This brief reviews safety concerns faced by transit riders and operators and the spectrum of approaches transit agencies can take to address them, including non-police approaches.