Union Points to Recent Murders of Bus Operators and FTA Transit Worker Assaults Report

Washington, DC - As Members of the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee heard about the continuing issue of transit worker assault at a hearing today, the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU), the largest union representing transit workers in the U.S., called for minimum vehicle safety standards on transit buses after the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) reported last week that assaults on transit workers increased more than 232 percent between 2014 and 2024 and two ATU bus operators were murdered on the job in the past month.

"The recent stabbing death of Seattle King County Metro Bus Operator Shawn Yim, a member of ATU Local 587, as well as the shooting of Atlanta Bus driver Leroy Ramos of ATU Local 732 coupled with the shocking FTA report on the epidemic of transit worker attacks, show that much more needs to be done to protect the lives of transit bus operators and our riders," said ATU International President John Costa. "Unfortunately, these were not isolated tragedies, every year, thousands of transit employees throughout the U.S., mostly bus operators and riders, are attacked on transit buses."

This astonishing rise in attacks referenced in the FTA report is a direct result of the important change in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), which the ATU helped pass, requiring transit systems to stop sweeping assaults under the rug. The bill required agencies to report all incidences of worker assault, regardless of severity, providing an accurate picture of what ATU has known for years: violence against bus drivers in the transit industry is increasing. 

In September 2024, the FTA issued a general directive that required more than 700 transit agencies to complete a safety risk assessment concerning assaults on transit workers and provide information on how they are working to prevent assaults.

"Considering the fact that many of these brutal assaults occur while massive buses are rolling down the street, it is actually amazing that more pedestrians, bicyclists, and other motorists are not killed. People don't like paying increased fares for less frequent service, so quite often they take out their frustrations on the drivers - the neighborhood tax collectors," Costa continued. "Weapons vary. Some drivers get punched or kicked. Others are stabbed or strangled from behind. Some offenders spit or throw steaming hot coffee or urine in the face of the operator. Transit workers continue to get pummeled every day. They are sitting ducks. Some vehicles are hijacked and driven off the side of the road due to these brazen attacks."

The FTA's preliminary analysis of agency responses shows more than two-thirds of transit agencies determined that strategies are necessary to reduce the risk related to assaults on transit workers. However, the agency went one step further, noting that the agency's findings could support the development of "federal minimum safety standards."

ATU has long said that no transit bus should be operated in revenue service unless it is equipped with a door between the passenger and driver compartment that incorporates features to restrict the unwanted entry of persons (and fluids and articles) into the bus operator workstation. Congress passed a bill in 2015 calling for the FTA to mandate such standards.

"Now, before anyone else gets killed, it is finally time for FTA to act. We are glad that the agency is now moving toward taking this important step in making buses safer for both operators and passengers," Costa continued.

FTA's report is here: https://www.transit.dot.gov/sites/fta.dot.gov/files/2025-01/Responses-to-General-Directive-%2824-1%29-01-16-2025.pdf