LOS ANGELES, CA - After a series of violent incidents, including the death of a woman on the Metro B Line, the transit agency's Board of Directors has declared a public safety emergency.
According to ABC 7, on Thursday, April 25th, the board of directors also agreed to procure new safety barriers for bus drivers and take other steps to enhance safety on the transit system. The board of directors unanimously adopted a recommendation to acquire new barriers for hundreds of buses in response to the "sudden, unexpected increased severity of assaults on its operators."
Data with Metro shows assaults on bus drivers increasing from 92 attacks in 2019 to 160 in 2023, and in 2024, those incidents are already on the rise. In the report, Metro noted that two recent incidents where in March. In one incident, a rider hijacked a bus and held the driver at gunpoint, crashing the bus into the Ritz Carlton Hotel in downtown Los Angeles. In the other incident, a bus driver was stabbed in Willowbrook.
Currently, Metro's buses have operator shields, but anyone can still technically reach around and make contact with the bus driver. On Thursday, April 25th, Metro board member and Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger also introduced a motion, co-authored by several of her colleagues, to quickly explore solutions to bolster public safety. The motion was promoted by the death of 66-year-old Mirna Soza Arauz, who was stabbed in an unprovoked attack earlier in the week.
In a statement, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, who chairs the board of directors, said, "Metro riders deserve to be safe on the system and we will continue to do all that. We can keep not only our riders, but also our operators safe, and I know that as a board, we will step up to this challenge because that's what frankly the people of Los Angeles deserve."
Barger said that her motion calls for the agency to secure station gate entrances and exits, analyze data on violent crimes, including those by reoffenders occurring on the system, and speed up pilot solutions at some of the most "challenging" stations. Among other measures, the board of directors called for were quickly increasing security systems, implementing facial recognition technology, and using other technology. The agency may look into ways of banning problematic individuals from Metro altogether.
Barger said, "We have received reports highlighting improvements since last year on crime stats and over other key areas. But, the reality is that we are fighting a battle with one hand tied behind our back." Barger even admitted to not feeling safe herself. She said, "I hate to say it, I will not ride our transit system by myself."
Additional data shows that there is a nationwide trend of an increase in assaults on transit vehicles or bus operators. The National Transit Database reports that on average from 2008 to 2021, there were 192 assaults on transit vehicles. John Ellis serves as a representative for six local chapters under the SMART-TD (Sheet, Metal, Air, Rail, Transportation) Union that accounts for over 5,000 bus and rail operators who work for MTA.
In response to seeing a rise in assaults on transit workers, Ellis said, "I mean you look at the news every day. It's going up, up and up. Something had to be done." Metro plans to first install the enclosed barriers on buses that have experienced the most operator assaults within the last year. Ellis said those lists of buses still need to be finalized before moving forward. The reported cost to supply and install the barriers is over $5 million.
The agency is aiming to have all their buses retrofitted by the end of 2024. Barger said, "Until we completely reverse security reality on our system, I'm concerned that we will never come back." She cited the agency has been plagued with violence, drug sales and overdoses, and other issues. She said, "There is no acceptable reality in which those solely relying on our system should have to endure this level of fear and indecency."
According to ABC 7, on Thursday, April 25th, the board of directors also agreed to procure new safety barriers for bus drivers and take other steps to enhance safety on the transit system. The board of directors unanimously adopted a recommendation to acquire new barriers for hundreds of buses in response to the "sudden, unexpected increased severity of assaults on its operators."
Data with Metro shows assaults on bus drivers increasing from 92 attacks in 2019 to 160 in 2023, and in 2024, those incidents are already on the rise. In the report, Metro noted that two recent incidents where in March. In one incident, a rider hijacked a bus and held the driver at gunpoint, crashing the bus into the Ritz Carlton Hotel in downtown Los Angeles. In the other incident, a bus driver was stabbed in Willowbrook.
Currently, Metro's buses have operator shields, but anyone can still technically reach around and make contact with the bus driver. On Thursday, April 25th, Metro board member and Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger also introduced a motion, co-authored by several of her colleagues, to quickly explore solutions to bolster public safety. The motion was promoted by the death of 66-year-old Mirna Soza Arauz, who was stabbed in an unprovoked attack earlier in the week.
In a statement, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, who chairs the board of directors, said, "Metro riders deserve to be safe on the system and we will continue to do all that. We can keep not only our riders, but also our operators safe, and I know that as a board, we will step up to this challenge because that's what frankly the people of Los Angeles deserve."
Barger said that her motion calls for the agency to secure station gate entrances and exits, analyze data on violent crimes, including those by reoffenders occurring on the system, and speed up pilot solutions at some of the most "challenging" stations. Among other measures, the board of directors called for were quickly increasing security systems, implementing facial recognition technology, and using other technology. The agency may look into ways of banning problematic individuals from Metro altogether.
Barger said, "We have received reports highlighting improvements since last year on crime stats and over other key areas. But, the reality is that we are fighting a battle with one hand tied behind our back." Barger even admitted to not feeling safe herself. She said, "I hate to say it, I will not ride our transit system by myself."
Additional data shows that there is a nationwide trend of an increase in assaults on transit vehicles or bus operators. The National Transit Database reports that on average from 2008 to 2021, there were 192 assaults on transit vehicles. John Ellis serves as a representative for six local chapters under the SMART-TD (Sheet, Metal, Air, Rail, Transportation) Union that accounts for over 5,000 bus and rail operators who work for MTA.
In response to seeing a rise in assaults on transit workers, Ellis said, "I mean you look at the news every day. It's going up, up and up. Something had to be done." Metro plans to first install the enclosed barriers on buses that have experienced the most operator assaults within the last year. Ellis said those lists of buses still need to be finalized before moving forward. The reported cost to supply and install the barriers is over $5 million.
The agency is aiming to have all their buses retrofitted by the end of 2024. Barger said, "Until we completely reverse security reality on our system, I'm concerned that we will never come back." She cited the agency has been plagued with violence, drug sales and overdoses, and other issues. She said, "There is no acceptable reality in which those solely relying on our system should have to endure this level of fear and indecency."
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Comments
2024-05-02T09:32-0400 | Comment by: David
Oh yeah. That's the ticket. Install "safety barriers" on all the busses to protect the drivers. That'll fix everything.