Transit Safety Concerns Show Early Signs of Softening

The most recent Return to Office Employer Surveyreveals that, while concerns about personal safety are still high, they are down to 71% “Somewhat” or “Very Concerned” from 78% in the previous round of the survey, the highest percentage we had seen to date. While there was a 4% increase in the “Somewhat Concerned” category for this round of the survey, there is a 9% drop in those who responded they are “Very Concerned” as compared to March’s survey. This drop could in part be due to the Bay Area Council’s successful advocacy, which has resulted in some significant safety improvements on transit in the region and specifically on BART.

The Bay Area Council, which was instrumental in the creation of BART and counts the agency among our more than 300 member organizations, has been laser-focused on advocating for safety improvements on the region’s public transit systems, with an emphasis on BART safety. Working in partnership with nearly 100 member companies, the Bay Area Council recently launched a transit safety work plan to address these unprecedented concerns with safety on Bay Area transit. In a recent win, after months of the Council’s advocacy, BART recently announced that it would reconfigure its police officer deployment model to substantially increase police presence in stations and trains, with more safety improvements on the horizon. The Bay Area Council will continue to advocate for transit safety improvements until all local transit agencies are safer for everyone at any time of day.