Feeling Safe
Posted by Fred Jandt
Mass Transit editor
I went to BusCon this week and got to see some of the latest designs on the showroom floor. As always, the show was well-attended and most people I spoke with seemed upbeat about the industry. Comparisons between smaller vehicles (cutaways and the like) and full-size buses sparked a conversation about driver safety and the placement of barriers. That got me to thinking, how much is feeling safe worth?
Then I sat down yesterday morning to post the latest transit news on our Web site and I came across this story in the Washington Post. “Larcenies Fuel Rise in Transit-Related Crime” sure sounds like a dire situation for Washington Metro. However, as I started reading the story I realized it wasn’t necessarily about a surge in transit crimes, but how an increase can be misinterpreted.
According to the article, there were no transit-related rapes, homicides or burglaries last year. The numbers of aggravated assaults and transit-related robberies also dropped. Of course, the total “transit-related crimes” increased.
Why? Because the number of thefts reported increased. And if someone breaks into your car when it’s sitting at a park-and-ride, it’s a “transit-related crime” even though it could have happened anywhere.
I would say that transit being “unsafe” probably rates up there with it being “too expensive” and “dirty” as the general rule of thumb why people don’t take transit. And just like those two other myths, this one is in a word, busted.
As it states in the Post article, the public perceives a greater likelihood of crime on public transit than actually occurs. In this case, perception doesn’t equate to reality. For Washington Metro, transit is safe and its riders know that.
So this brings back the point about how much is feeling safe worth. Transit agencies spend millions (even billions) of dollars a year protecting systems and riders. And for those who use the system, seeing is believing. Transit riderships across the nation continue to rise despite it being “unsafe.”
Transit agencies can only do so much to protect riders. If you leave your iPhone sitting on your front seat all day, you have a better-than-average chance of it getting stolen. And the same goes for any number of other things people leave in their cars. But this isn’t the agency’s fault. And no matter how you try to educate people or create rules to prevent things like this from occurring you can’t stop it altogether.
You can’t legislate common sense.
In the end transit is doing the best thing possible it can do to make people feel safe on systems, it’s making them safe. And being safe is the best way to make people feel safe.
One last thing. I ran into Complete Coach Works’ Macy Neshati at BusCon and he told me that Long Beach Transit’s former executive director of maintenance, Jim Ditch, is nearing the end of his battle with cancer. Macy asked if I would share his thoughts on Jim and spread the word to Jim’s friends in the transit industry. If you get the chance, take a look and add a comment or memory to Macy’s blog.
Thanks for reading the MT Position updated every Friday,
Fred
fred.jandt@cygnusb2b.com
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September 21st, 2009 at 6:26 am
When out-of-towners come to visit my home town of Philadelphia, I tell them: lock your doors, put away your money, and don’t give your car keys to anyone who doesn’t have a uniform. These are common sense things that people don’t know unless you tell them. I tell them so I don’t have to pick them up at the police station after the robbery.
When rookie riders take their first ride on transit, I tell them: bring exact change, know where you’re going, keep your valuables secured, dress for the weather, and remember you’re in a public place at all times. I tell them so I don’t have to hear them complain when they miss their stop or lose their I-phone.
Transportation professionals tend to take a jaded view of “rookie mistakes” because most of us were rookies at one time in an unforgiving environment. The whole “serves them right” mentality tends to continue even if we don’t realize it. The fact is, we are hosts on our systems and we must advise our guests in advance what they should expect.
Police departments nationwide give crimestopper tips; let’s give them transit tips to add to their presentations. Recruiters from high tech companies visit high schools and colleges; transit marketing pros could do the same thing. I think it works better to tell our “rookie riders” what to expect before we find ourselves dealing with their lost items, taking their complaints, and handling their police reports.