KTLA

Violent assaults on L.A. Metro workers are on the rise

Vivian Chow and Sandra Mitchell

A new study revealed that bus and train operators in Southern California are being increasingly targeted in violent attacks.

A report by the Urban Institute found that, over the past 15 years, major assaults on bus and rail operators across the U.S. have tripled. 

“Major” assaults were defined as “an event resulting in a fatality or injury requiring medical transport.” From 2008 and 2022, major assaults rose from 168 to 492 nationwide, according to the study.

The report analyzed data from the Federal Transit Administration’s National Transit Database. 

Assaults that didn’t meet the FTA’s “major” threshold that drivers were still subjected to include stabbing, spitting, hitting and kicking, and unwelcome sexual misconduct.

“Operators have also reported being robbed, having things thrown at them, being doused with urine and hot beverages, being threatened at gunpoint, and shot at,” the study said.

A plexiglass installed for safety near an L.A. Metro bus driver. (KTLA)
L.A. Metro buses in downtown Los Angeles. (Getty Images)
The Metro Red Line subway station at Vermont/Santa Monica. (KTLA)
Metro K Line next to Edward Vincent Jr. Park in Inglewood. (Metro The Source)
A woman drives a Metro line train in the downtown area on March 8, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. (Getty Images)
Authorities were investigating a bus stabbing at Slauson Avenue and Atlantic Boulevard in Maywood on June 27, 2014. (Credit: KTLA)
A man was stabbed on a Metro bus bordering Hawthorne and Gardena on May 13, 2015. (Credit: KTLA)
Authorities were investigating a bus stabbing at Slauson Avenue and Atlantic Boulevard in Maywood on June 27, 2014. (Credit: KTLA)
A man accused of stabbing another man on a public transportation bus in East Los Angeles is seen in this image released April 10, 2018, by Los Angeles County sheriff’s officials.
Authorities investigate the scene of a deadly stabbing on a transit bus in Hawthorne on Sept. 21, 2021. (RMG News)
First responders on the scene in Venice after a Metro bus driver was stabbed on June 22, 2023 (Citizen app)
The suspect, described as a 21-year-old white male, approximately 6 feet tall, with curly blonde hair and a thin is wanted for stabbing an MTA bus driver in Woodland Hills on May 24, 2023. (LAPD)
LAPD responds to the scene of a stabbing of a Metro Bus driver in Woodland Hills on May 24, 2023. (KTLA)
A man identified as a suspect in a double stabbing aboard a transit bus in Inglewood on Aug. 31, 2019, is seen in images released Sept. 5, 2019, by the Inglewood Police Department.
A man was stabbed at a bus stop across the street from Disneyland on Aug. 23, 2015. (Credit: OC Hawk)
LAPD on the scene of an alleged stabbing of a Metro Bus driver in Woodland Hills May 24, 2023. (KTLA)
A man was found with a stab wound aboard a Metro bus in East Hollywood on Sept. 29, 2016. (Credit: KTLA)
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In 2023, L.A. Metro deployed an additional 48 armed security operators for its fleet of over 2,000 buses. Plexiglass shields next to the drivers have also been installed to protect them further.

However, the security measures have not been reassuring to some Metro passengers.

“They should be concerned for their safety,” said Isaac Sapozhnikov, a Metro rider. “It’s a very worrying job. They have to be driving the buses at night and you never know who’s going to get on.”

In 2008, Metro reported only one major assault on an operator. In 2022, there were nine reported major assaults. 

However, Metro officials claim they’ve begun to reverse the trend saying that major assaults on bus drivers have decreased in 2023 with 11 incidents in October versus 16 in October 2022.

“We are taking a serious look at this,” said Rick Jager with L.A. Metro “Assaults against our employees and passengers will not be tolerated and we’re going to deal with it.”

Metro officials said additional protection enhancements are in the works including extending the safety plexiglass for drivers from the floor to the ceiling. 

The full report by the Urban Insitute can be found here.