CHAPTER 4
Causes, Risks, and Consequences of Assaults on Passengers and Transit Workers

The information in this chapter related to the causes, risks, and consequences of assaults on passengers and transit workers was based on feedback from transit agencies during focus groups and interviews conducted in August and September 2024. The interview guide and focus group discussion guide is available in Appendix A.

Causes of Assault

According to those in both interviews and focus groups, the causes of assault and aggression are varied. Common causes that they reported include the following:

• High neighborhood or community crime rates often lead to higher risks of transit assaults. Assault is a reflection of the neighborhood or community where the transit operates.
• Isolated conditions can result in more serious assaults. The presence of other people is a deterrent up until there are crowds.
• Crowded conditions often lead to verbal and nonphysical injury assaults.
• Fare evasion can lead to assaults on frontline transit workers. The unwillingness of a customer to pay their fare can be an escalating event that can lead to assault (verbal or physical) on the fare collector or operator.
• The targeting of certain groups, including, but not limited to
  • Women,
  • Gender-expansive (nonbinary),
  • Asian (especially during the COVID-19 pandemic),
  • Latinx,
  • Black or African American,
  • People experiencing homelessness,
  • People with disabilities,
  • Frontline transit workers, such as
  • Fare collectors,
  • Code enforcement personnel, and
  • Maintenance personnel.
• Enforcement of policy or code of conduct by a transit worker can escalate to assault.
• Situations from outside of the transit system (or that were initiated prior to the rider embarking on the transit vehicle) may spill over into the transit environment.
• Presence of illegal activities, such as drug exchanges can result in assault.
• Unhoused populations, which can include both victims and perpetrators of assault depending on the circumstances, can be involved in assault.

• Random acts of violence (i.e., someone lashing out without prior verbal warning or interaction) can occur.
• Poor lighting and unkempt transit settings (e.g., dirty facilities, overgrown vegetation that provides places for people to hide, and so forth) can be conducive to assault.

Guidance to Address These Causes

The following methods have been identified to address these root causes of assault:

• Provide resources/services to the unhoused.
• Discourage enforcement of fare collection by a transit worker.
• Install tall fare gates (where applicable) that make fare evasion more difficult.
• Do not make vehicle operators enforce fare collection.
• Ban repeat offenders (individuals who have committed prior assaults).
• Train transit employees on conflict resolution, de-escalation, and other topics to mitigate the causes of assault.
• Hire more police officers or security personnel to make customers and employees feel safer and act as a deterrent.
• Have more transit personnel present at stations and on transit vehicles.
• Post information to the public on the consequences of committing assault.
• Ensure proper lighting, well-trimmed vegetation to avoid blind spots, and transit settings that are clean and free from debris.

Risks of Assault

Some circumstances or issues can lead to increased risk of assault. Common identified risks include the following:

• Being a member of a vulnerable group or a transit worker in general
• An open transit facility design at street level with platforms adjacent to the public right-of-way without a fare gate (such transit facilities are more difficult to control).
• Certain times of day, such as
  • Nighttime,
  • Evening rush hours (from 3 to 7 p.m. or 4 to 8 p.m.), and
  • When few people are on the system.
• Certain design features of the station or transit environment that make it easier for perpetrators to hide or catch people off guard
• Standard operating procedures for transit workers that put them at higher risk

Guidance to Address These Risks

• Consider design changes to mitigate assault, such as removing bushes or tress that block views or positioning lighting where needed.
• Train transit workers on situational assessment of threats and risks.
• Encourage riders to be aware of their surroundings instead of concentrating on their electronic devices or using earplugs or headphones that totally block out noise.
• Encourage riders to avoid sitting in empty train cars.
• Allow stops-on-demand (courtesy stops along a bus route that riders can request at night, which are closer to their destination).
• Consider transit agency and contractor policy changes intended to reduce risks to transit employees and riders, such as codes of conduct and penalties for violators.

• Train transit workers to follow established protocols by notifying the Operations Control Center or appropriate personnel, rather than directly engaging perpetrators.
• Make sure training guidance to transit workers is consistent across the industry.
• Use cameras to monitor vehicles and stations.
• Use technology such as
  • Access control systems,
  • Weapon screening systems,
  • Silent alarm systems that can be activated by transit workers,
  • Facial recognition systems, and
  • Better lighting.

Consequences of Assault

The consequences of assault are many and can often go beyond the immediate issues related to the assault. Common consequences identified by the research team include the following:

• Transit workers who are victimized in an assault or who witness an assault also have to deal with mental health issues as a result, including post-traumatic stress disorder.
• Victims often experience trauma after the event, especially for transit workers who may have to return to the site where the assault occurred.
• After an assault, riders fear having to use the transit system again.
• The impact of the victimʼs experience may spread to their friends and family members, causing them to also fear for their safety when using transit.
• Just witnessing an event can have a traumatic impact.
• Assault also affects the transit system as a whole. If people become accustomed to seeing these bad acts, an adverse image of the local transit system, negative perceptions of transit users, and reduced transit ridership will result.

Guidance to Address These Consequences

The following methods have been identified to address these consequences:

• Make it easier to report incidents.
• Provide information to victims on how to access various resources available to them.
• Develop policies that let riders know the transit operator/agency take their concerns of assault seriously and care about their perceptions of security.
• Establish procedures and policies for banning individuals who have committed assault.
• Facilitate access to the following resources for transit workers following an assault:
  • Advocates to help navigate the process and criminal justice system
  • Employee assistance programs that help victims by providing a therapist to talk to
  • Critical incident stress management programs (a group of employees who reach out to their victim colleague to “provide a shoulder to lean on and to be there to listen”)
• Develop an agency safety plan (required for agencies receiving select federal funds).