A list of recommendations aimed at protections for bus drivers and passengers was approved Wednesday by a Los Angeles city committee in an effort to stem crime on transit systems.
In a 3-0 vote, the council Transportation Committee approved a report detailing initiatives the city Department of Transportation could take to ensure the safety of bus operators and public transit riders. A seven-page report from the department highlighted efforts already being taken to bolster safety, such as fixing emergency buttons, adding roadway supervisors and incorporating live-stream video surveillance on some city buses.
According to the Federal Transit Administration, "major" assaults on bus drivers more than doubled between 2008 and 2022, from 136 to 318 annual events nationwide. In Los Angeles, DOT reported physical assaults on buses nearly tripled from 2022 to 2023.
Get top local stories in Southern California delivered to you every morning. >Sign up for NBC LA's News Headlines newsletter.
"In the recent surge in 2023, over half of assaults and over two-thirds of threats involved the bus driver," according to the report. "Assaults continue to persist at increasing frequency, with 30 assaults on bus drivers reported thus far in 2024, 10 of which were reported in June 2024."
The city contracts with MV Transportation, which hires and trains workers and provides services to the city's transit fleet, such as DASH, Commuter Express, Cityride and LAnow. More than 300 city transit workers are represented by Teamsters Local 572.
Over the summer, the city held meetings with its stakeholders to identify top safety concerns from bus operators. Those meetings revealed that some radios on DASH buses do not function; bus operators have to use personal cell phones to contact police during an emergency; there's a lack of security personnel to respond to calls for help; bus operators don't always know how to respond to aggressive or agitated passengers; and some drivers are uncertain about what constitutes a crime and how to report it to the Los Angeles Police Department.
There were also concerns with bus layover locations and several late-night routes.
While attacks are typically viewed as being violent in nature, they can also be defined as verbal abuse, shoving, slapping, spitting, among other transgressions. As a result, the city and its contractor moved to deploy more road supervisors on DASH routes, in particular the Mid-Cities Service Region, where there is a high pattern of bus operator attacks.
The city is on track to fix its emergency button issue, according to Brian Lee, chief of transport for DOT. City officials said they expect to complete upgrades to its entire DASH fleet, some 305 buses, by mid-October, connecting them directly to a dispatch center. It will also change the buses' exterior destination displays to alert the public to call 911.
About 148 newer buses acquired since 2021 will receive surveillance systems, which will be online within three to five weeks, officials said. Another 80 older DASH buses will receive the same upgrade by the end of 2025.
In a move to address issues with radios, DOT is expected to purchase 170 hand-held devices with an open connection to LAPD's dispatch system.
Lee noted DOT is considering the installation of 300 driver barriers across its fleet, similar to what Metro is doing to keep its operators safe. The proposal would cost nearly $2.2 million, according to the report.
Additionally, the department is considering a nearly $64,000 proposal for "lone worker personal safety devices," which transmit alarms with GPS coordinates over cell networks.
DOT is considering updating its code of conduct for riders, changing its hours for bus services, among other things to ensure the safety of bus operators.
The entire proposal is estimated to cost the city $3.6 million, which would be covered by Prop A and existing grants, according to the report.
"The safety of our transit operators and riders is paramount in creating a strong and productive transportation system," City Councilwoman Heather Hutt, who chairs the Transportation Committee, said in a statement. "By implementing more security measures on transit services, the city can find better solutions to eradicate the frequent violence that's been happening on DASH and Metro buses across Los Angeles.
"Our city deserves a transportation system that is free from danger."
