The Federal Transit Administration is issuing a new directive in response to the high level of assaults on transit workers across the country.
A statement from the FTA explained that the new directive is meant to address the “unacceptable level” of assaults that have occurred in 2023.
The General Directive now requires all agencies subject to the Public Transportation Agency Safety Plans to “conduct a safety risk assessment, identify safety risk mitigations or strategies, and provide information to FTA on how it is assessing, mitigating, and monitoring the safety risk associated with assaults on transit workers.”
This directive comes as the number of “major assaults” — which the FTA defines as an assault leading to a fatality or injury requiring medical transport — on transit workers has tripled over the last 15 years, according to a study performed by the Urban Institute.
There were an average of 241 “reportable assault events on transit workers” annually between 2008 and 2021, per the FTA.
However, this figure is likely an undercount of the true magnitude of the issue, given the high threshold required for meeting the FTA’s classification of a reportable assault, Urban Institute stated.Â
“Assaults, both those that do and do not meet the FTA’s ‘major’ threshold, include stabbing, spitting, hitting and kicking, and unwelcome sexual misconduct. Operators have also reported being robbed, having things thrown at them, being doused with urine and hot beverages, being threatened at gunpoint, and shot at,” according to Urban Institute.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said, “Everyone deserves a safe workplace, including and especially the frontline transit workers who keep our nation moving.”
“Assaults on transit workers are unacceptable, and I look forward to working with leaders across the transit industry on ways to further enhance the safety of these essential workers.”
A news release from the Transport Worker’s Union states that assaults on transport workers have “plagued this vital workforce for far too long” and “[t]ragic headlines are all too common.”
“This is an unprecedented and clear directive from the federal government that transit agencies must do much more to protect bus operators, conductors, and other transit workers. Transit workers are getting attacked and abused every single day,” stated TWU President John Samuelsen in the release.
“They are getting harassed, menaced, spat upon, beaten up, even shot and killed. This plague of violence against this vital workforce has been going on for far too long.”
This directive has only been proposed and not officially adopted, leading the FTA to request public comment on the matter.
FTA Administrator Nuria Fernandez echoed the statements by Buttigieg and added that this directive demonstrates the “ongoing comprehensive efforts to improve transit worker safety.”
“Each day, transit workers nationwide are responsible for moving millions of Americans to their jobs, schools, and other daily activities, and we must ensure that their safety remains a top priority,” she said.
