There are lots of reasons people avoid public transit in a region built for cars, but the feeling that the system isn't safe certainly doesn't help Dallas Area Rapid Transit draw new riders in.

Crimes against people have fallen 21% over the last year, according to DART board chair Randall Bryant. But there is still a lot of work to do. The feeling of chaos and insecurity that often pervades transit stations and their surrounding areas remains.

On Tuesday, agency directors discussed a smart new program to help address that problem. Called Operation Access, the 90-day pilot will oversee train boardings at seven stations selected based on incident data.

Under the program, three-person teams will check fares and enforce the agency's code of conduct, both on platforms and aboard trains. At two downtown stations, the agency will use physical barriers to control access as well.

Agency staff said this strategy was highly successful while the World Cup was in town. At the stations where it was employed, there were no major incidents and crime fell.

The goal is to boost visible security presence and track the results to inform longer-term security plans. Next month, DART is planning to discuss the possibility of installing fare gates on platforms, adding a security employee in the first car of every train and overhauling its fare policy.

Our hope is that additional enforcement on the platforms themselves will help reduce the presence of loitering and homelessness on the rail system. There's no denying that these contribute to a feeling of insecurity in public spaces. That's something DART cannot afford. The agency can and should keep its trains clean and orderly while connecting people in need to services.

When serious crimes do happen, they naturally stir up fear about using the transit system.

On Saturday night, there was a shooting aboard a northbound train at Cityplace Station. One male victim was taken by ambulance to a hospital, a DART spokesperson said Tuesday. The suspect fled and remains at large. DART police are investigating.

All this comes as DART projects a ridership drop. Absent a change of course, the agency is expecting to see 52 million trips next year, down from 55 million this year, our newsroom reported.

Meanwhile, the Denton County Transportation Authority and Trinity Metro's TEXRail have seen recent ridership gains.

DART's new CEO, Nathaniel Ford Sr., will inherit these many challenges when he takes over at the agency in October. Apart from low ridership and financial constraints, he will also have to navigate the region's complicated political dynamics. It's a huge task, and we hope Ford will find the right solutions for the region.

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