Metro Transit continuing work to improve safety on buses, trains

Metro Transit officials say they’re making progress to improve public safety on buses and trains.

This summer, the agency announced a multi-phased plan to address some of the concerns from riders and operators.

One of the most notable changes from Metro Transit’s quarterly update is the addition of contracted security officers at the Franklin Avenue Station in Minneapolis.

“There’s a lot of drug use, open-air market,” said Shane Davidson, from Minneapolis. “It’s crazy man, I think it’s gotten out of hand.”

Metro Transit police say they strategically picked this location.

“Calls for police service, Franklin Avenue stood out in that data,” said Richard Grates, Metro Transit’s interim police chief.

Davidson says this is needed for this area.

“Especially on the transit, they don’t stop nobody, they don’t do nothing to enforce the law, it seems like,” Davidson said.

The contracted security officers will help address safety concerns for Metro Transit riders and operators.

“The goal is to have a safe and secure transit system, and we understand that those concerns are there,” Grates said.

It’s one way Metro Transit believes it is making progress. This summer, the transportation operator announced an extensive, 40-item action plan to improve the experience on buses and trains.

“We hear every day from our customers, our employees, the communities that we serve that safety is a top concern of theirs,” said Lesley Kandaras, Metro Transit’s chief of staff.

Other updates in the quarterly report include Metro Transit Police graduating its largest class of new officers since the start of the pandemic.

“We’re working on this, we’re trying to bring more people in the door,” Grates said.

Plus, Kandaras says they reintroduced conflict resolution training for operators.

“The idea of doing more training is coming from our employees themselves, they’re saying they want more resources, more skills to really effectively address the situations they’re experiencing,” Kandaras said.

As contracted security steps in to help at the Franklin Avenue Station, Metro Transit eventually plans to add them to the Lake Street/Midtown Station, too.

“If this proof of concept is working, we want to employ it at other areas throughout the system to improve our presence all over,” Grates said.

Metro Transit officials admit they’re far from done with improvements, and they want to hear from you. For more information on job openings, click here, and to review their safety and security plan progress report, click here.