Transit Safety Is Core Value and Is Improving, Says APTA President and CEO at T&I Roundtable

APTA President and CEO Paul P. Skoutelas took part in a House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Highways and Transit Subcommittee Roundtable, Sept. 18, titled Restoring Public Trust on Transit: Perspectives on Improving Safety. Also involved were FTA Administrator Marcus Molinaro; Randy Clarke, general manager and CEO, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority; Chief Stacey Graves of the Kansas City, MO, Police Dept., and Greg Regan, president, Transportation Trades Dept., AFL-CIO. More than 20 Members of the T&I Committee participated in the roundtable.

“For the public transportation industry, safety is a core value—a non-negotiable operating principle and promise to our riders and workers,” Skoutelas said. “The men and women responsible for managing and operating public transportation systems are fully committed to the safety of their passengers, employees, systems, and the public.”

Citing the murder of Iryna Zarutska in August on the Charlotte CATS system—the first homicide on Charlotte’s Blue Line since opening almost 20 years ago—Skoutelas explained that public transit agencies are working every day to ensure safe, clean, and efficient systems but was keen to emphasize that they can and will do more.

Skoutelas described how federal investment is a critical component for public transit safety and security. Transit agencies use federal transit funds, he said, to increase lighting in and around stations; install cameras to monitor activities on buses, rail cars, and in stations; adapt bus designs, including installing protective shields, to protect drivers; and develop and deploy other innovative systems (including AI) to enhance safety and security.

While some large transit agencies also receive Transit Security Grants from the Department of Homeland Security, Skoutelas claimed the program was woefully underfunded, with Congress providing less than $100 million per year for transit security grants for the entire U.S.

In addition to ongoing safety and security capital projects, Skoutelas noted how public transit agencies are using state, local, and agency operating funding to increase the number of roaming and stationary security officers; deploy “transit ambassadors” and mental health professionals to help identify individuals who present potential safety issues; and conduct public awareness campaigns.

“With this layered, multifaceted approach, the industry is making progress—less than ¼ of one percent of serious crimes occur on public transit. And transit safety is improving: total transit-related fatalities are down 17 percent, assaults on passengers down 14 percent, and assaults on employees down 7 percent from 2024,” Skoutelas said.