Subway users already felt uncomfortable using the system outside of working hours or in certain locations.
Then a gunman hijacked a bus Wednesday morning in a violent takeover that left one passenger dead as officials tried to reassure Angelenos who have long been wary of promises to improve a system that has failed to keep people safe.
“It's getting scarier and scarier,” said Priscilla Russell, a 69-year-old retired juvenile detention officer who, like thousands of low-income residents, relies on the bus to get around.
“At night, for a woman, it’s very dangerous,” said her daughter Indiglo Russell, who works as a caregiver. “I have to be careful and make sure I look around.” If someone is acting scary, Indiglo said, “I try not to look them in the eye and not make the situation worse.”
It was the second bus hijacking in six months and at least the fifth homicide in the system this year. In May, after security guard Mirna Soza, 66, was killed in an unprovoked attack as she returned home from work, Mayor Karen Bass ordered A wave of law enforcement officersMetropolitan Transportation Authority officials said more uniformed officers helped reduce crime during the summer months, but it hasn't been enough.
“I am angry and frustrated,” Metro Executive Director Stephanie Wiggins said of the incident on Metro Bus 81. “We have been working diligently to address safety improvements to our system to make things safer for our employees and our riders.”
But, he said, such incidents were all too common and largely blamed on forces beyond the transit agency's control.
“It’s also a reflection of the community, and that includes the criminal activity and guns that come onto our buses from the streets of our community,” Wiggins said.
Metro said there has been a 20% increase in enforcement on the system.
Overall crime figures rose during the first six months of the year, largely due to officers cracking down on fare evaders and trespassers. While violent crimes declined slightly, assaults on operators rose from 11 in May to 14 in June and 23 in July, according to Metro.
In recent months, subway riders have suffered a number of violent attacks. In July, there were stabbings at Union Station and the South LA Metro station. In August, a woman was thrown onto the tracks at the Pasadena Metro station and dragged across the concrete divider onto the 210 Freeway.
Violence is a problem faced by traffic officials across the country. Attacks on public transport workers have has tripled in the last 15 yearsaccording to research from the Urban Institute.
On Wednesday, U.S. Department of Transportation officials announced a directive to more than 700 transit agencies aimed at better protecting frontline workers from the risk of assault. Under the new rules, agencies must conduct risk assessments for agency transit workers and identify strategies to improve their safety.
“Transit agencies across the country are not doing enough to stop the ongoing attacks on our members,” Amalgamated Transit Union International President John Costa said in a statement.
He said that once the assessments are completed, he expects agencies to “immediately begin requiring minimum safety standards for transit buses.”
Metro critics said the agency has been slow to act, costing lives.
“This is not an isolated incident,” said Orion S. Robinson, a lawyer representing the family of a passenger killed in an unprovoked attack last year. “It’s just a continued refusal to address the current situation.”
Jesse Michael Rodriguez, 23, was on his way to a friend's house when he was stabbed by another rider near Pershing Square in December. Robinson says it was Metro's lack of security, fare enforcement and trespassing rules that created dangerous conditions for riders and led to Rodriguez's fatal stabbing.
“It is clear that there has been an increase in criminal behavior and violent acts on the Metro,” he said. “It is clear that Metro was notified of what was happening. The public will agree that this is a significant issue for our city and it is putting a lot of people at risk.”
For months, the board has been trying to find ways to improve conditions, launching a program to install protective barriers for bus drivers, creating a testing program for gun detectors and promising to create a new Metro police force. But officials acknowledged they have not done enough.
“I think if you ask most riders, they’ll tell you they haven’t seen as many uniformed police officers on the system as they would like,” Metro Board Chair and County Supervisor Janice Hahn said Wednesday. “Having them more visible, in my opinion, would help deter some crimes and maybe even stop them when they’re happening.”
Hahn said that as the city prepares to host the 2026 World Cup and 2028 Olympics and improve public transportation, she is focused on Los Angeles residents who rely on public transit and need an immediate change.
“These are the people who depend on public transport.”
Many who work in Los Angeles’ industrial areas rely on the bus to get to and from work on shifts that start well before dawn or end late at night. For a significant portion of the population who work in areas like the downtown Flower Mart or produce warehouses, it’s their only transportation option, said Executive Director Estela Lopez of the Downtown Industrial District BID.
“Some people use the Metro for environmental reasons, it’s their preferred mode of transport, but there are a huge number of people who depend on it to get to work,” Lopez said. “Does anything need to be done? Does something need to be better than what’s being done now? Of course it does.”
Lopez, whose organization encompasses Skid Row, said she has not seen an increase in security and that Metro bus safety is tied to the surrounding neighborhoods.
“What happens on the buses doesn’t start on the buses; what happens on the streets is transmitted to the buses,” Lopez said. “Have we seen a decrease in crime? No. Do we expect to see a decrease in crime? No.”
“It’s total lawlessness throughout the city of Los Angeles,” he said.
Officials tried to convince passengers that they would control the situation.
“I want to say unequivocally that what happened this morning will not be tolerated,” Bass said. “There is no place for this in Los Angeles and we will work to ensure the safety of all Angelenos, passengers and operators.”
Times staff writer Jireh Deng contributed to this report.
