Metro Declares Safety Emergency And Will Install Enclosed Barriers On Buses

Metro is ramping up protections for bus operators in response to a series of assaults on bus drivers.

Metro's board of directors declared an emergency Thursday to speed up the building of enclosed barriers for drivers that will protect them from future assaults.

The emergency condition allows Metro to quickly retrofit their bus fleets to install barriers made out of tempered glass. That type of safety glass will splinter instead of shatter when struck upon with force.

Currently, Metro’s buses have operator shields, but anyone can still reach around and make contact with the bus driver.

Assaults on bus operators rise

Metro reports that assaults on operators have increased since 2019. In 2023, there were 160 assaults on bus operators. In a report, Metro noted two recent incidents where in March, a rider hijacked a bus and held the driver at gunpoint, crashing the bus into the Ritz Carlton Hotel in downtown Los Angeles. And earlier this month, a bus driver was stabbed in Willowbrook.

Additional data shows that there is a nationwide trend of an increase in assaults on transit vehicles or bus operators. The National Transit Database reports that on average from 2008 to 2021, there were 192 assaults on transit vehicles. And further analysis from the Urban Institute reveals that major assaults on transit workers nearly tripled from 2008 to 2022.

John Ellis serves as a representative for six local chapters under the SMART-TD (Sheet, Metal, Air, Rail, Transportation) Union that accounts for over 5,000 bus and rail operators who work for the MTA. Ellis previously met with Metro to go over the glass material and request that the installation process gets sped up. Without the emergency declaration, retrofitting the buses with the enclosed barriers would have taken up to three years, according to Metro’s report.

“I mean you look at the news every day,” said Ellis in response to seeing a rise in assaults on transit workers. “It's going up, up and up. Something had to be done,”

What's next

Metro plans to first install the enclosed barriers on buses that have experienced the most operator assaults within the past year. Ellis says those lists of buses still need to be finalized before moving forward.

The cost to supply and install the barriers is over $5 million.

The agency aims to have all their buses retrofitted by the end of the year.

Metro's executive board also agreed to explore additional safety measures at Metro stations including more security cameras, the use of facial recognition technology and fare gates.

Kathryn Barger, an L.A. County Supervisor and Metro board member, says although ridership levels have increased since the pandemic, safety remains the number one concern among riders, employees and staff.

"Until we completely reverse security reality on our system, I'm concerned that we will never come back." said Barger. She cites that the agency has been plagued with violence, drug sales and overdoses and other issues.

"There is no acceptable reality in which those solely relying on our system should have to endure this level of fear and indecency."