Quote:
Originally Posted by Illithid Dude
Most people chose mass transit if got them to where they needed to go faster than driving. If an agent at CAA had a meeting downtown, or Hollywood, depending on the time of day, taking the subway would easily be the more expedient choice. So why wouldn't they ride it?
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I' m all for public transit, especially light and heavy rail transit. I advocated for the subway back in the 1980s and 1990s at public meetings. I love the trains. But I think a lot of people are reluctant to ride it not only because of covid, but because all of the sometimes violent crazy people who also ride it. Something has to be done to solve this problem. More security, more treatment and if necessary, commitment of violent people with mental illness, more shelter beds, whatever. Just a few days ago near Union Station, a crazy homeless man punched a nurse waiting for a bus in the head, and she fell on the concrete and fractured her skull, dying a day or two later in the hospital she worked at. Other people waiting for trains have been pushed onto the tracks by crazy people, and some have died. More commonly crazy or crIminal people on trains or in stations bother and threaten riders, or make demands for money. It happens all the time. It has happened to me. Ridership falls as a result.
Are the "Guardian Angels" still around? Some called them vigilantes, but all I saw were people helping others and reporting criminal activity to police. There were white, black, Latino and Asian "angels". They kept things safer as long as the transit police and security are so scarce. Maybe more of these voluntary patrols are needed on the trains, stations and buses, sanctioned by the police as voluntary patrols. Also, more cameras on all the trains and train stations, with people in transit headquarters watching 24/7 and notifying the transit police of problems and illegal activity so they can intervene. Every train station should have several transit police, and there should be some on trains that have problems. This will deter criminal actuvity.
Now, back to cinstruction activity.