SacRT to invest $1 million in furthering security of its system

The Sacramento Regional Transit District (SacRT) is making a $1 million investment in its safety and security program. Approved as a piece of the FY26 budget, the funding will support improvements to staffing, monitoring and visibility across the transit system.

While there’s been media coverage raising concerns about the safety of its employees, SacRT clarified that reported incidents involve aggressive verbal disagreements, not physical altercations. These altercations are considered reportable statistics by the National Transit Database, though they are not classified as crimes. SacRT’s crime rate has lowered — just 3.7 crimes per one million boardings, a figure that is lower from last year’s 7.5 incidents per million boardings.

SacRT’s fare evasion rate has also come down from double digit figures it experienced a decade ago to less than 1% currently. SacRT says it’s working to ensure its system is safe, welcoming and responsive for both riders and employees.

SacRT has also been responsive to feedback, adding a reporting feature on the Alert SacRT app for riders to provide feedback about Transit Ambassador interactions with riders after recent complaints.

Strategic use of new funding

The additional $1 million in funding will be used to expand SacRT’s security in three areas:

• Transit Ambassadors: Increasing the number of authorized positions from 40 to 50, along with a modest salary increase to improve retention and recognize the role ambassadors play in customer service and de-escalation.
• Security operations center (SOC): Hiring two additional staff to enhance monitoring of SacRT’s 2,000-plus security cameras and improve responsiveness through the crime tip hotline and mobile reporting app for SacRT’s SOC.
• Security guards: Expanding the presence of uniformed security guards across light- rail stations, vehicles and parking lots.

Current and Future Staffing

“This investment is not about starting from scratch — it’s about building on a strong foundation,” said SacRT General Manager and CEO Henry Li. “We’re recognizing the tremendous and important work our frontline teams do every day, and this funding allows us to do even more to support them and the communities we serve.”

SacRT recently launched the Respect the Ride campaign, an effort to spotlight the role of Transit Ambassadors and encouraging respectful interactions and behavior on its services.