When debating the merits of driving vs. transit, it’s easy to talk about things like time, money, and convenience. It’s a lot trickier to talk about another issue that can get factored in: crime.

The topic is currently front and center for Metro Transit: in less than six weeks, two bus passengers have been the victims of unrelated murders. (According to today’s Strib, there was only a single homicide on all transit systems nationwide in 2005.) Murders might be rare, but perceptions and fears persist, and there are other kinds of crimes to worry about. From today’s story:

Metro Transit Police Chief Dave Indrehus called the bus attacks “really isolated incidents” and took pains Monday to reassure bus and light-rail riders that they were safe…. Asked about the weekend shooting, most Metro Transit riders on Monday said it scared them but they were not planning to change their riding habits. Some have no choice.

…Nastacia Foster, a University of Minnesota sophomore on the Route 16 bus Monday, called the incident “horrible” but said it didn’t surprise her. “I feel like, when I’m on the bus, anything can happen,” she said.

So Roadguy’s question for today is: How do perceptions of crime affect your daily transportation? Do you hunker down in your bus seat, avoid the bus altogether, or encounter no problems at all? Do you sometimes drive instead of walking or taking the bus because of safety concerns? (Roadguy did that for a bit last year, after a murder happened on a sidewalk that he regularly used at night.) Outside of traffic offenses, have you personally been the victim of a crime while on the bus, on foot, on your bike or driving your car? Can anything be done to address the risks?

Please share your thoughtful comments below.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 24th, 2007 at 6:05 am and is filed under Transportation conversations. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.