Sen. Hagerty introduces Transit Safety Act

U.S. Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) on Sept. 23 introduced the Safe Transit Act (S. 5492), which would penalize "the oversight of crime and misconduct on public transit," according to a press release issued by Hagerty's office. The bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs.

If passed, the bill would:

• Allow the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) to withhold 100% of federal funds from 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;
• Require transit agencies in urban areas to invest at least 3% of federal formula funding into safety and crime prevention initiatives;
• Authorize USDOT to withhold up to 50% of federal transit funding from cities with crime rates significantly higher than the national transit average;
• Establish binding nationwide performance standards for physical turnstiles, gates and fare collection infrastructure to stop fare jumpers; and
• Require all new federally funded buses and rail vehicles to be equipped with inward- and outward-facing security cameras and event recorders.

Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy, who praised the introduction of S. 5492, has previously directed the Federal Transit Administration to investigate and possibly withdraw federal funding from transportation agencies for security and safety concerns. These agencies include the Chicago Transit Authority, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the Charlotte Area Transit System, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority and Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority.