WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Wednesday, Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN) introduced the Safe Transit Act, a bill aimed at penalizing the oversight of crime and misconduct on public transit.
This landmark legislation will crack down on violent crime, end rampant fare evasion, and restore public safety across U.S. public transportation systems.
The Safe Transit Act incentivizes public transit systems to adopt more robust crime prevention measures and creates a safety performance benchmark, ensuring each system is held to the same standard. Most importantly, the bill withholds federal funds from transit systems that fail to meet the proposed benchmarks and safety protocols.
Hagerty said some of the nation's most robust and frequently used transit systems - especially those in blue states - do not have adequate security protocols in place to keep their passengers safe.
'Too many Democrat-led cities and states take taxpayer dollars while letting crime run rampant on public transit. This must end,' said Hagerty. 'My legislation would direct federal funding to communities that actually protect passengers and promote public safety. It's time to put Americans' safety first.'
'Under President Trump's leadership, we've used every tool in our toolbox to make transit systems safer, cleaner, and more family-friendly. Our work has slashed fare evasion, increased law enforcement patrols, and reduced crime - including right here in our nation's capital. But for the stubborn states, cities, and systems that refuse to meet basic safety standards, we need more flexibility to hold them accountable,' said U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy.
One of the key provisions of the Safe Transit Act is empowering the Department of Transportation to withhold 100 percent of federal funds to cities and local governments that fail to criminalize fare evasion, ban violent offenders from transit systems, or allow personal recognizance and cash-free release for transit crimes.
The Safe Transit Act would require transit agencies in urban areas to invest at least 3 percent of federal formula funding into safety and crime prevention initiatives, including lighting improvements, security cameras, emergency call boxes, and protective barriers for bus drivers.
Under the law, the Department can withhold up to 50 percent of federal transit funding from cities with crime rates significantly higher than the national transit average.
The new law sets binding nationwide performance standards for physical turnstiles, gates, and fare collection infrastructure to stop fare jumpers.
If the Bill passes, all new federally funded buses and rail vehicles will need to be equipped with inward- and outward-facing security cameras and event recorders.
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