> issues with safety on public transportation

Do you know the stats on what percentage of transit rides result in some sort of assault or theft? It’s always felt pretty safe to me, although you certainly do end up sharing space with some very disadvantaged people.

My issue with US transit is mostly speed and convenience. Even with the traffic it usually takes 3x as long to get somewhere by transit, unless my destination lines up perfectly with the routes.

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lobf 5 days ago | parent [-]

I know the stats and they're absolutely damning.

https://injuryfacts.nsc.org/home-and-community/safety-topics...

You're orders of magnitude more likely to die in a car vs on a bus.

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SilverElfin 5 days ago | parent [-]

Deaths are one problem, but they may also not be distributed evenly. Some cities or states have more issues on public transit than others. But also you can still be a victim of assault, harassment, theft, and other issues on public transit. Many of these issues also go unreported or don’t get counted in official stats if not accompanied by a formal police report or whatever. So it doesn’t tell the full story of what people’s real experiences are.

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fzeroracer 5 days ago | parent | next [-]

I live in Seattle and take the public transit almost every day since I don't have a car. The real experience which you seem to care about is that I haven't had any issues and most of the fear people spread around public transit is made up.

	▲	Izikiel43 5 days ago \| parent [-]
		I always dread travelling by bus in seattle, waiting for what crazy will get on that day, and it affects most buses as they all go to downtown, where most of the homeless/addicts are.

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lobf 5 days ago | parent | prev [-]

>Some cities or states have more issues on public transit than others.

Sure, but that doesn't change the stats.

>But also you can still be a victim of assault, harassment, theft, and other issues on public transit.

As can you in a car.

>Many of these issues also go unreported or don’t get counted in official stats if not accompanied by a formal police report or whatever.

They use estimates for unreported crimes. I trust the institution to provide the best possible data.

>So it doesn’t tell the full story of what people’s real experiences are.

Do you think there's any chance in hell that actual deaths / injuries on public transport even begin to approach those in cars?

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titanomachy 5 days ago | parent [-]

I think people in this thread (and elsewhere) are using "unsafe" to mean "I feel uncomfortable" rather than "there's a serious chance that harm will come to me".

Law enforcement in liberal cities might overlook public urination or petty theft by the mentally ill, but they come down hard on violent crime. Truly violent people are not allowed to roam free on public transit. There's definitely some weird people though, and our society is segregated enough that most rich people probably can't tell the difference between a violent weirdo and a harmless one.

	▲	lobf 5 days ago \| parent [-]
		And don't forget, you're more likely to encounter a road-rager threatening you than some person on a bus.