Protecting Transit
Posted by Fred Jandt
Mass Transit magazine editor
When we talk about safety and security it usually pertains to someone knowingly or unknowingly hurting themselves — crossing railroad tracks in front of a train — or the agency — vandalism. Although I think one thing we need to talk more about is the safety of transit employees and how increased security may be needed to protect them.
There was a story out of the Bay Area this week about a Muni station agent who got into an altercation with a teenage girl and her older sister that escalated into him being held for apparently punching the teenager.
This wasn’t the transit worker’s first altercation with a rider, which makes this pretty easy to dismiss this as an out-of-control person smacking around a young girl. And you know what, at first glance I did that as well. But when I went back and reviewed this week’s news, as I do every week before I write the blog, I found this story went deeper.
It seems the girls were seen throwing sodas from a nearby coffee stand at the agent, and when he tried to close the door of his booth, they tried to hold it open and continue attacking him. This was all reported by eyewitnesses to the police.
My first question is if you see two teenage girls yelling and throwing sodas at a station agent before trying to break into his booth and get at him, did you call the police? Did you try and help? Barring that, did you stick around to tell the police what you saw? Evidently, some did of course, but I would hazard a guess a great number of people just put their heads down and headed into the station.
Nothing to see here. Move along.
Attacks on transit employees are nothing new. Unfortunately it seems to be happening with more regularity and with a frightening amount of brazenness from the attackers. Slapping a bus driver and running off a bus is a cowardly action. Trying to break into a station agent’s booth is downright insane.
With the SEPTA strike last week, as with all strikes I guess, the union was trying to show (among other things) how important its members were to the agency. I get that. But I also know that the agency already had that figured out. I have yet to interview a transit executive who told me his employees were dispensable.
I know that employee safety is and always will be a primary concern for transit agencies, but as these attacks have apparently ratcheted up, perhaps the critical issue of safety for transit employees needs to be equally increased. Otherwise incidents like the one that just happened at Muni’s Embarcadero Station will continue to happen.
Thanks for reading the MT Position updated every Friday,
Fred
fred.jandt@cygnusb2b.com
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November 13th, 2009 at 11:50 am
Attacks on transit employees and ordinary transit riders is nothing new at all.
As long as transit continues to cater to the lowest common denominator by keeping fares dirt cheap -mainly for low income riders who cannot afford anything better for their personal transportation- crime will continue to be rampant on transit.
I’ve commented about this problem before and the only solution is to raise fares so that transit agencies can afford to hire a lot more security and the higher fares will also discourage criminals from getting on transit in the first place.
Otherwise, just like the ill fated low income housing programs of the 50s and 60s, transit will go down in history as another expensive -and miserably failed- social experiment.
November 13th, 2009 at 12:04 pm
Some years back, (2003?) there was an article in one of the Brazilian magazines about the differences between the various attacks and vandalism on CPTM and Metro trains in Sao Paulo. CPTM had far worse problems than Metro, even though they serve the same ridership in the same city. If I remember right, the Metro effort at keeping the pubic informed and involved was credited with much of the difference.
November 13th, 2009 at 12:23 pm
While there is validity to the previous comment, it is not a guarantee. Public Transit is just that – Public. For this reason safety and security policies have to be taught to employees and enforced. Violators have to be prosecuted.
Our transit system (a fare free system) strictly enforces our Safety and Security Plan, which is endorsed by the minicipal admistration and backed up by our Police Department.
Our passengers, including high school kids, know all to well what will and will not be tolerated. Our penalties range from a simple eviction from the system, to issuing a six month minimum “No Trespass” to arresting the offender.
If that incident had occured in this City, I guarantee you the outcome would have been entirely differeent.
November 13th, 2009 at 1:19 pm
I agree with CA but higher fares mean discouraging not only criminals but low income riders as well, then fraud will be the bigger issue
November 14th, 2009 at 9:42 pm
California Transit Rider (who does not ride transit) continues to not understand transit in the SF Bay Area. It has a three-fold mission: one to get people out of cars; two, to provide meaningful service for those who cannot afford vehicles and three, provide para-transit service for the elderly and handicapped.
The biggest loser here is para-transit, which costs a huge amount, but even Scrooge would consider this something we should do. Providing bus and rail transit for those who can’t drive is a social necessity; people have to get to work, to stores, even religious services.
Then there’s the commuters, the vast volume of transit riders. This aspect of transit draws people out of automobiles and reduces pollution. It works when it is cheaper and faster than driving and paying for parking. In the Bay Area this is a generally pleasant experience.
The bizarre attack on a Muni ticket collector is not normal and not a result of “lower class” riders. It is simply a strange event, not to be eliminated by raising transit fares to the point where Lexus drivers would finally feel luxurious.
If California Transit Rider wants a “Bar Car” on BART similar to the Electroliner Service on Red Arrow Lines, then he/she is living in the wrong age. Transit has a valuable contribution to make and that is essentially moving people without cars. And it works.
November 16th, 2009 at 7:40 am
Friendly help isn’t deserved, it’s earned. If you really believe that you’re surrounded by “the lowest common denominator”, then your body language and eye contact will make this known and people will be aware. Successful transit people form friendly bonds with the folks they encounter every day. If you act like you’re better than everyone else, you become difficult to support in an altercation. Friendly bystanders won’t feel safe standing up for a person who clearly wouldn’t do the same in return.
November 16th, 2009 at 11:48 am
Please keep in mind that there are at least two primary view points regarding security at a transit agency – that of your passengers and the one that tends to be more revealing, that of the employees, who know what security practices are in place. Doing an assessment of security to address these two perspectives can go along way in implementing and/or practicing security best practices.
Follow up assessments should also be a part of monitoring whether security is working or not. Take the example of this transit worker who was attacked, what changes can be implemented to reduce the likelihood of this happening? Some solutions don’t necessarily have to cost anymore, sometimes a change in procedures may do.
Some of the best ideas come from the employees in the field, so solicit comments, ideas, and potential solutions from the employees. After all, protecting the transit workers is as important as the passengers.
I too agree that good customer service skills improve interpersonal relationships, which can go a long way in reducing some tendencies by people to attack a transit worker.
Thus, customer service and security are interrelated in some ways, and keep in mind that a sense of security is important and expected by our patrons.
November 28th, 2009 at 12:02 pm
I disagree STRONGLY with the first poster in that fares do not have to be raised to “guarantee” public and transit employee safety. Criminals are in all wage brackets, it does not mean that if a person makes X amount of money that there will be no crime. Maybe less incentive to do so is there, but it is still no guarantee.
In this day and age of global climate crisis, all of us should be doing everything possible to get people out of their cars and use mass transit whenever possible.
And as to your last sentence, dooming transit if fares are not raised and comparing it to low income housing – there simply is NO comparison. Transit has been around for over 100 years, far longer than low income housing. Public transit WORKS.
October 29th, 2010 at 10:47 pm
Nice post! I like your blog due to its very professional outlook.
May 10th, 2011 at 4:08 am
Nice post! Thanks.
May 20th, 2011 at 2:47 am
Great articles..