Ride Public Transit? Not Until It is Safe.

Stories of transit from a few cities.

In Los Angeles, crime on the Metro has increased significantly. Even with soaring gas prices, safety concerns make L.A. mass transit a hard sell

Violent crimes on the system jumped 36% last year, according to Metropolitan Transportation Authority data. Aggravated assaults, rapes and even homicides rose for the second year in a row. Homeless people loitering on the subway have contributed to rising cases of harassment of riders and in some cases violence.

So, not an incentive. No solutions are offered of course. Putting more police on the trains, for example, would not be Progressive.

And it isn't just LA of course that has problems. This story should probably include the words "Florida Man." Driver hailed as hero in shooting on bus that killed 2, injured 2 others. Suspect identified and heading into court

He opened fire on a bus, killed two people, and seriously injured two more. Police either don't have the motive, or there isn't a motive. Just random violence.

Then there is the basic decline of Western Civ, as evidenced by this story out of Philadelphia. Man punches pregnant woman in face after she refuses to give up seat on bus, Pa. cops say

As 6ABC and NBC10 report, the man, who police say they arrested on Monday, approached the seated woman and demanded that she give up her seat. When she refused, he punched her in the face, pushed her, then fled, according to Philadelphia police.

Last week, it was Chicago's Transit in the news. Security guards doubled, more Chicago police on CTA Blue Line, Red Line trains amid crime spree.

Violent crime on CTA trains is up 28% in the first two months of 2022 compared to 2021.

Which is a bit of a misleading statistic, since ridership was way down in early 2021. I can't find per-rider data, or per-mile data, because math is hard, and Chicago can't be bother to produce that data. But still, the collapse of law and order is not ignoring the Chicago Transit Authority.

So go ahead, ride public transit. And I don't hate transit. When I worked in Chicago I commuted on the trains 5 days a week, and often took the trains into the city on the weekend, since I was buying monthly passes. But I would not ride them today.