San Diego MTS Report Shows Crime on System Down Twenty-Five Percent

The San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) has issued a report showing a 24 percent drop in crime across its network. This reduction comes less than two years after the agency launched a comprehensive security initiative to make the system safer.

Data from MTS’s Transit Security and Passenger Safety Department shows that from January through August 2025, 969 crimes were reported on MTS services—just 76 percent of the 1,274 incidents reported during the same period in 2024.

“We’ve been intentional with our improvements on a lot of fronts, and the results are beginning to show,” said MTS Chief Executive Officer Sharon Cooney. “We have been listening to our riders for a few years now through customer feedback, surveys, and research that the top priority for riders is feeling safe while using the system. Ridership grew seven percent last year and a big factor in that can be attributed to this reduction in crime.”

In early 2024, MTS rolled out several security measures in an effort to grow ridership, including:

• Better Coverage: Increasing the number of Code Compliance Inspectors by 60 percent to add more visibility and coverage to the system.
• Fare Compliance: Getting better fare compliance from riders by implementing a stricter fare enforcement policy.
• Faster Response: Consolidated the 24/7 security hotline into a single number for texting and calling, and improved technology behind the scenes so incoming calls can be managed more efficiently.
• Better Visibility: Increased security “train teams” on Trolley lines from 5-6 teams per shift to 8-10 teams per shift, which led to more frequent interactions between officers and riders, along with an increase in calls and text messages to MTS.
• More Patrols on Buses: Doubled the Bus Enforcement security team to help extend security presence beyond major transit centers and Trolley lines.
• Expanding Coverage: Added security outposts at busy transit centers like San Ysidro, 12^th & Imperial, and El Cajon so officers spend more time on the system and less time traveling to/from headquarters.

On the 2024 Customer Satisfaction Survey, conducted after the security initiatives were in place, 71 percent of bus riders and 63 percent of Trolley riders reported feeling safe on board—well above the national averages of 42 percent for both modes. Riders were also five times more likely to say their satisfaction has improved compared to a year ago.