Attacks on NYC subway and bus workers hit new high in 2022
Assaults on subway and bus workers last year hit the highest levels since at least 2018 — and spiked nearly 29% compared to before the COVID-19 pandemic, new MTA data shows.
At least 121 attacks were reported through Nov. 30, 2022, marking a steep jump from the 94 tallied for all of 2019, according to the recent figures.
And the violence didn’t let up during the last four weeks of the year — with another 15 assaults against transit workers recorded from Dec. 5, 2022, through Jan. 2, according to the data, first reported by NY1.
Cases of harassment against workers — including verbal harassment and spitting attacks — also rose in wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, but dropped last year compared to 2021, an MTA spokesman said.
“Assaults on transit workers are unacceptable,” spokesman Sean Butler said in a statement. “The MTA is committed to keeping riders and the transit workers that keep the city moving safe while delivering service when and where New Yorkers depend on it.”
In December, the victims included a train dispatcher who suffered serious head injuries when an assailant allegedly broke into his office at a Manhattan subway station and beat him with a hammer, as well as a Q17 bus operator in Queens who had a fare-beater allegedly pull a gun on him and tell him, “I should kill you.”
”The more riders get frustrated and angry, the bigger the target becomes on our backs. We don’t make the decisions, but some riders see the MTA uniform and lash out at us, “ said TWU Local 100 President Richard Davis, who represents the bulk of the subway and bus workforce.
Transit workers have not faced the surge in violence alone — overall felonies underground were up this year compared to last, and the rate of crimes per rider is up compared to before the pandemic.
Riders will be more vulnerable to violence if the MTA goes through service rollbacks planned for Mondays and Fridays, Davis said.
MTA leaders pushed for legislation last year to give judges more power to ban people who attack transit workers and other riders, but only one judge has used the authority since the legislation passed — on a case in Suffolk County stemming from an incident on the Long Island Railroad.
Lisa Daglian, of the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the MTA, called for higher penalties for people who assault or harass transit workers.
“There’s just a lack of civility towards people who kept New York moving, who keep New York moving — and who we really owe a debt of gratitude to. It’s not appropriate, it’s not right, it’s not fair, it’s not good and it’s got to stop,” Daglian said.
“The penalties need to be higher for assaulting transit workers. there needs to be more of an ability to do the things the MTA has asked for, to ban people from the system for provable actions.”