Does "dangerous" necessarily default to meaning murder? A breakdown for assault and robbery would be helpful since I suspect that's the direction a conversation would go.

What's with the random comparisons? Sometimes it's the whole US, sometimes specific parts. What does 500 rides mean? Annual deaths per 100'000 population per 500 rides?

Is there a graph that breaks it down by rider? As in, deaths per 100K riders on public transit? I think this graph would be including people that don't ride public transit at all (I fully believe it's still safer, just not sure if this particular graph is the most accurate).

I’ve taken public transit a lot, haven’t owned a car for around 20 years. I can count on one hand the amount of times I’ve felt threatened, and none of them resulted in me or anyone else getting hurt. I will admit part of that is probably that I’m a man, but as a trans man it puts me in a weird space where that doesn’t always protect me.

Sometimes people yell and act aggressive, and it puts me on edge. But far more often I have seen strangers band together to help people who are lost or disabled and need assistance. But nobody really makes news stories about that, so if you’re not taking public transit regularly, all you hear about is the crazy shit that happens.

Kathy Hochul sent in the national guard to swarm the subways, in response to some supposed crime wave. She was eventually forced to admit the data showed she was lying, and violent crime was way down.

No data but this is common concern among my social circle too (Toronto). More with people who don't use transit but also with those who use it to a lesser extent. The economic conditions produced a drastic increase in homelessness over the last decade. It spills over into the public transit system as people seek warmth during the deadly winter cold. While people tend to ignore the problem, as the unhoused population grows, random attacks become a thing. That goes on the news, people see it on their daily commutes, and here we are. It's not a transit problem.

What's with the Sawyer County call out? Do they just have the highest death rate for traffic accidents or something?

I don't really know anyone afraid of transit crime here in LA, but the main deterrent is mostly how long it takes to get to places -- which is ironic, given cars are the main reason our trains and busses are delayed (our trains cross busy intersections, which is insane).

A lot of people aren't used to being in crowded public spaces like they were used to, with COVID making it worse. The presence of homeless makes the perception worse.

Statistics do not help, when you have a feeling. The honest solution is to make the experience feel safer. So clean open friendly light stations help a lot and the trains should also be clean and friendly.

@Vaya So if we're going to deploy the military domestically in the name of public safety, the best use of their resources would be to park their tanks on highways and stroads to block off excess lanes and prevent the extreme speeding that's so rampant on US roads.