Even though violent crime on transit is fairly low, many transit riders across the country are worried about their personal safety when taking transit, and these worries are intertwined with concerns about code of conduct enforcement, harassment, policing, and homelessness. Concerted actions are needed to help riders feel safe.
Here are some rider comments from one recent CX survey (source: LA Metro 2022 Customer Experience Plan):
“There's always people on the train playing loud music and sometimes smoking weed or doing meth. I've seen it all! And this is because there's not enough visible security on train or stations.” - Latinx/Hispanic Male, age 35-44
“Sometimes, people play the phones (music) so loud...the driver never says anything...rules are broken but nothing is said or done...it [makes me] fearful...no one wants to get involved” - Black/African American female, age 55-64
“I have had men try to get off on stops that I also got off of just to follow me home.” -White/Caucasian female with disability, age 18-24
“I am Asian and I experienced verbal attacks.” - Asian/Pacific Islander female, age 45-54
“In 20+ years, I have seen security staff on a bus only ONCE!” - Native American female with disability, age 35-44
“I see Homeless people shooting up drugs, urinating in public, vomiting, drinking alcohol on the bus and transit security or cops are nearby, drivers are aware, sometimes police even witness it directly, BUT NOTHING IS DONE!” - Black/African American male, age 45-54
"Some bus stops are poorly lit and without covering or seating.” - Black/African American male, age 25-34
Transit employees share these safety concerns and also worry about being assaulted while doing their jobs.
In this context, transit is under pressure to curtail behaviors and conditions that adversely affect the health and safety of their customers and employees. This includes not only occasional robberies or assaults, but also more commonplace threatening or erratic behavior, open drug use, extreme odor, and defecation or urination in public spaces. At the same time, there is a strong push for a compassionate response that connects people experiencing homelessness or mental crises with resources to get them the help they need, rather than to criminalize homelessness.
Transit agencies have responded to these challenges with a wide variety of initiatives and pilot programs such as:
Homeless outreach teams.
Interim shelter for people experiencing homelessness on transit, mental health crises and addiction services, counseling, meals, laundry, showers, basic skills training, medical care, transportation to medical appointments, and help with paperwork to apply for longer term housing.
Code of Conduct changes to nurture a culture of care, and offer assistance before compelling compliance with rules.
Modifying procedures to create a culture of zero tolerance for sexual harassment on transit.
Training in cultural sensitivity and avoiding unconscious bias.
Bystander training that encourages employees and riders to report incidents and support anyone who is being victimized.
Flexible Dispatch programs that divert some calls from law enforcement to social workers.
Focusing security staffing on swing and graveyard shifts to address customer and employee concerns about safety at night.
Lighting improvements, especially at stations and stops where riders wait at night.
Security cameras.
Installation of effective faregate barriers, fare enforcement, and deployment of mystery shoppers to confirm that fare enforcement is conducted equitably and is free from bias based on economic and social status, gender, and race.
Elevator attendants.
Apps and hotlines to facilitate safe reporting of security incidents.
Sharing information with customers about the new SOS features available on smartphones that make it easier for people to summons help when they are in danger.
And last but not least, transit agencies are deploying transit ambassadors.
Public transit faces some fundamental challenges though, such as:
There are typically too few staff, whether ambassadors, homeless outreach workers, crisis intervention specialists, security guards, or police, to cover even a small fraction of a transit system's buses, trains, bus stops, and train stations. Moreover, the available resources are often spread across multiple shifts to cover all operating hours. So the overall level of staff "presence" may be quite low at any given time.
Increasingly, there is more and more specialization. Homeless outreach workers and crisis intervention specialists focus on helping people get back on their feet, not rule enforcement or responding to crime. Police, on the other hand, respond to serious crime, but are sometimes asked to stand down from engaging with people experiencing homelessness or in mental crises - so as to avoid unintentional conflict or escalation. From a CX perspective though, customers may expect that anyone in uniform help in any scenario regardless of their specialty. For example, if a fight breaks out and an ambassador is on scene, riders may expect ambassadors to intervene, so there is a potential disconnect there. And customers may expect to see police engage with a person experiencing homelessness rather than pass them by because it is someone else's job. To address this challenge, some agencies deploy outreach workers and security staff as teams in close proximity to each other with defined roles and responsibilities. Other agencies cross-train staff so that they are able to sometimes handle situations outside their main area of expertise.
Another challenge is that people in crisis often decline offers of assistance. They may be afraid to go to a shelter or mental facility. They may be worried about losing their belongings or losing their independence. On the other hand, while transit customers may support offering people help, they also want to have a clean and safe experience when they ride. Some transit systems address this challenge by requiring staff to first offer assistance to someone whose condition or behavior affects other riders before enforcing code of conduct rules.
Another challenge is that crime, homelessness, drug addiction, and mental illness are largely outside the control of public transit systems. Cities and counties usually have the main responsibility for these issues. Transit's lack of control can make transit leaders reluctant to take ownership of the security environment. It may feel like a losing cause. When that happens though, transit customers pay the price. Those who have limited transportation choices experience stress and worry when they ride, while people with more resources and transportation choices shift to driving or other modes to avert danger, which in turn impairs post-pandemic ridership recovery and makes transit less relevant as a climate solution. A CX-focused agency will set aside institutional concerns in favor of focusing on customers and their needs. That may require influencing or partnering with local cities and counties, and even stepping out of transit's usual comfort zone to invest in security to provide a dignified ride to its riders.
Transit ambassador programs vary widely. Some are small pilot tests, while others involve deployment of hundreds of ambassadors. Some are hired directly, while others outsource the ambassador function. Some agencies ask ambassadors to enhance official "presence" and serve as the eyes and ears to report security incidents, while other programs encourage ambassadors to go beyond that and safely intervene in certain situations. Some ambassadors are recruited based on their previous experience in homeless outreach or mental health, while others are recruited based on customer service or security skills. Some ambassadors do light cleaning, like picking up rolling bottles to avoid injuries and claims, or answer customer questions about wayfinding, while other ambassadors steer clear of any work that might conflict with labor agreements.
Tip: Some transit agencies reimburse social services agencies for the cost to post homeless outreach workers on the transit system, but without clearly defined expectations about productivity. One option to consider is a pay-for-performance model, with stipends paid for successful placement into services for people intercepted on the transit system who are in need of assistance.
The diversity of ambassador programs and other initiatives that reimagine transit security is advantageous to public transit and provides the opportunity for transit agencies to learn from each other. But that can only happen if there are robust metrics and transparency. Unfortunately, many of the pilots set up their own data collection, making it hard to compare with data collected by other agencies. National guidelines would be helpful. For ambassador programs for example, standard definitions are needed for KPI's like response time, level of staff presence, diversion of calls from policing to social services, response time to security incidents that are reported on transit apps, the rate of successful placement of people in need into housing or social services, the incidence of individuals who decline offers of assistance, etc. Without standard definitions, the pilot programs will not be comparable so public transit as a whole may not learn as much as they could.
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