Take a ride on the wild side - is the MTA safe?

By Melody Simmons

It’s one of Baltimore’s distinctive street sounds: Brakes squeaking as they slow a bus to a gentle, hissing stop. The doors open, and a robotic voice bids welcome aboard. Such is the corner routine as a fleet of Mass Transit Administration buses roll daily along routes in the metro area.

But a spate of high-profile attacks on MTA buses has focused attention on transit safety. The Dec. 4 beating of 26-year-old Sarah Kreager by middle school students that began aboard an MTA bus in Hampden left many riders at red alert, wondering about security issues on the MTA’s bus routes and rail lines.

“I have seen knives on the bus, heard cursing and yelling, and buses so packed with people that even if something happens in the back, the driver had no idea about it up front,” says Rosalind Thomas, a 58-year-old downtown worker who has been riding MTA buses for 30 years. “I saw a man slap another man once on the bus. Another time, some kids threw a rock at the bus window and broke it.”

The Kreager attack “is the tip of the iceberg” on exposing the MTA’s safety concerns, says Thomas, who is a member of the Transit Riders League, an advocacy group.

“The issue is civility,” insists MTA spokeswoman Jawauna Greene, who described the mood of riders in Baltimore these days as wary, dictated by the time of day they ride and where they get on and off a bus or light rail car.

While Greene said even “one incident is unacceptable,” she detailed how the Kreager attack — followed in the same month by a fight on a No. 64 bus, a stabbing on a No. 51 bus and a shooting on a bus in West Baltimore — forced MTA police officers to re-evaluate their approach to violent crime. “It exposed where we were vulnerable,” she said, “and where we needed to concentrate our efforts.”

Over the past three years, reports of violent crimes to MTA police officials have increased from 375 in 2005 to 415 in 2006 and 446 in 2007, Greene said. Those crimes include rape, aggravated assault, arson, robbery, burglary and theft.

The agency has received a jump in reports of personal thefts, mostly from what Greene called “crimes of opportunity” at Park ’n’ Ride lots. There, thefts from vehicles abound, MTA crime statistics show. Catalytic converters are being pulled from beneath parked vehicles for their valuable metal; other items are being ripped from cars, too.
Rider complaints of crimes by juveniles aboard buses and light rail cars are another concern, Greene said. Since September 2007, the agency received a dozen school-related violent-crime reports. Each day, nearly 35,000 students ride MTA buses or light rail cars to school.

Greene said, the MTA moved in January to forge stronger partnerships with city and school police forces. The agencies signed a memorandum of understanding to form a quick-response system that allows whichever force is closest to a reported attack to respond, Greene said. In the past, city police and school police would wait for MTA police to respond, she added.
In addition, silent alarms and GPS devices have been placed on all 650 buses and light rail cars. Video cameras — criticized for functioning only sporadically or not working at all before the Kreager attack — have been repaired and are regularly checked and maintained. Undercover MTA officers now ride along on all routes, sometimes collecting overtime pay.

“The common need with all people is to have a safe trip,” Greene said, echoing a statement made by Mayor Sheila Dixon after the safety upgrades were made early this year. Dixon announced then that everyone involved in the area’s mass transit is “more conscientious than they had been in the past.”

Baltimore Police Chief Frederick H. Bealefeld III in January ordered “buffer zones” around 18 public schools — most of them middle schools. That sent a police officer to each of these schools to patrol their perimeters while students arrive and leave every day. The MTA plans to hire more officers soon to patrol city routes, Greene added.

Otis Rolley III, president and CEO of the Central Maryland Transportation Alliance, which promotes transit options in the region, said the changes should give riders a “vote of confidence” in the system.

“Obviously the recent incidents are awful,” said Rolley. “But overall, the light rail and buses have been safe and continue to be safe. The MTA and the city police are now coordinating and that will step up their work in terms of security.”

Dan Pontious, acting executive director of the Citizens Planning and Housing Association, a local nonprofit advocacy group, is a regular rider who takes the No. 8 and No. 11 buses to his downtown office daily. He said the changes are good for the agency, which is constantly under scrutiny by the CPHA for efficiency.

“I know the MTA has been more focused on safety,” Pontious said. “And I speak as a rider in saying that I’ve never really felt unsafe.”

Rosalind Thomas, the downtown worker and longtime passenger, said the MTA’s new standards — as well as new signs promoting bus etiquette — are a start. But, she added, the agency still has a long way to go.

“Safety is definitely an issue. I don’t think people feel any safer after the [Kreager] attack. It’s just business as usual,” she said.

Melody Simmons is a freelance writer based in Baltimore.