NYMTA
The New York MTA on July 17, along with New York City Mayor Eric Adams, New York Governor Kathy Hochul, New York City Police Department (NYPD) Commissioner Edward A. Caban, and MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber, celebrated new data released by the NYPD, showing new milestones in the city and the MTA’s efforts to make New York City’s subways even safer.
According to the data, transit crime is down 44.4% this week compared to the same week last year, down 26.6% over the last four weeks compared to the same time period last year, and down 7.8% year-to-date compared to 2023.
If current trends continue, MTA says July will be the sixth consecutive month with a double-digit decrease in subway crime. Last year, overall crime in the transit system fell nearly 3% compared to 2022, as the number of riders increased by 14%. This year, transit crime was down 15.4% in February, 23.5% in March, 23% in April, 10.6% in May, and 15.3% in June.
The massive reduction in subway crime, MTA says, came in February, after Mayor Adams directed the NYPD to surge an additional 1,000 police officers into the subway system each day to help keep New Yorkers safe. Additionally, in March, the NYPD announced, “Operation Fare Play,” an initiative to ensure riders pay their fare when entering the subway system by deploying 800 more police officers into the subway system to crack down on fare evasion. The successful operation has helped correct behavior and kept the subway system safe.
“Governor Hochul and Mayor Adams have made subway safety a priority, and the results are in,” said Lieber. “In the first half of 2024, subways had both the lowest daily crime rate in 14 years and the third lowest in the 28 years since NYPD has been collecting this data when discounting the pandemic.”
“Our public safety mission is a 24/7 endeavor, just like the New York City subway system,” said NYPD Chief of Transit Michael Kemper. “And while public safety continues to be a shared responsibility between the entire criminal justice system and the people we serve, it is the ongoing investment in transit safety by City Hall and NYPD leadership—implemented by NYPD officer —that has led to this year’s notable reduction in subway crime.”
Amtrak
As part of World Emoji Day, Amtrak on July 17 unveiled a list of digital icons the company will use in messaging about each of its Northeast Corridor (NEC), Long Distance and State Supported service lines.
The 40 emojis, the company says, “were selected to reflect the various landscapes, industries, cultures and quirks of the states where these routes operate.”
LA Metro
LA Metro officials say the agency’s “TAP to exit” program “seems to be reducing violent incidents,” according to a KNX News report.
According to the report, Stephen Tu, Deputy Executive Officer of Station Experience with the LA Metro, told NBC 4 that violent incidents dropped by 40%.
“Through the ‘Transit Watch’ app, which is our ‘See Something, Say Something’ app, we’ve actually seen reported crime and incidents down over 40% for things like fights and disturbances, graffiti vandalism, and drug use,” Tu said.
L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger confirmed the decrease to KNX News’ Jon Baird. Barger, a Metro board member, introduced the motion to launch the pilot program.
“The goal is to try to dissuade and eventually eliminate those that are coming on, evading fare, and victimizing our passengers and our customers,” she said.
The program, which launched in May at the North Hollywood B Line Station, makes riders tap their cards both at the beginning and at the end of their trip. The goal of the program, which came following a surge in violent incidents on the LA Metro system, was to keep fare evaders off the system.
Some riders, however, still see issues with the program, according to the KNX News report.
“So, if you exit and you lose your tap card, you get a ticket,” one rider told KNX News. “So that’s unfair because you pay to get inside and ride the train, but if you lose or drop anything, you’re at risk of getting a ticket into trouble.”
The same week that the “TAP to exit” program launched, LA Metro revealed during a public safety hearing at L.A. City Hall that 97% of the people who had been arrested for violent crimes on the Metro system “did not have evidence of a TAP card or a fare,” according to the report.
