King County Metro Transit says it is continuing to build on its commitment to safety and to be the first choice for mobility.
In January 2021, it began an agency-wide Safety, Security and Fare Enforcement (SaFE) Reform initiative to achieve a long-term vision of safe, accessible and equitable transit to support community well-being. The two goals of SaFE Reform are to create a new vision for King County Metro’s safety and security functions, and to eliminate disproportionately negative outcomes of related policies and practices on customers and employees, especially for Black, Indigenous and other People of Color (BIPOC).
King County Metro says it worked with diverse community-based organizations and engaged with roughly 8,000 individuals—including community members, customers, and Metro and Metro Transit Police employees.
The agency notes it heard a strong desire for visible customer support and safety presence on the system, and a timely response if a potentially dangerous situation develops. Stakeholders also made clear how important it is that King County Metro and its partners show up in the right way. That can mean answering a mental health crisis or similar situation with resources rather than force, prioritizing de-escalation when that’s the safest approach and doing the work ahead of time with the community to be fully culturally competent.
King County Metro is also engaging with local organizations to proactively provide longer-term resources and support not just in Seattle or online, but in other parts of the county, too.
Guided by community engagement, King County Metro launched three near-term actions to respond to increased concerns aboard coaches. First, it expanded transit security officer services geographically to cover a broader range of routes and transit hubs, and their service hours to provide 24/7 coverage. King County Metro monitors and adjusts their deployment regularly, informed by customer and employee reports.
Second, the agency updated its approach to the small but impactful number of incidents where a rider refuses to exit the bus when it has completed its route and would otherwise return to base. Only as a last resort and after the rider declines to be connected to nearby services, Metro Transit Police or transit security officers now give the rider the choice of leaving on their own or assisted by officers. King County Metro says this new policy allows it to be respectful of the rider and to connect more people with needed services, while also increasing the safety of employees and better utilizing resources.
Third, King County Metro’s 70 current transit security officers represent a net gain of 10 employees since August 2021. Although unfortunately delayed by workforce challenges, the agency is hiring 70 more.
The agency also says it remains committed to working with law enforcement and jurisdictional partners as they tackle broader societal challenges—from street-level crime to drug use. The agency also makes clear the expectations of the “Ride Right” code that has always been posted across our transit system, including specific mentions that alcoholic beverages, harassment and smoking are not permitted under penalty of law.
King County Metro is working to update its existing “Report it to Stop it” campaign against sexual harassment and is developing broader bystander intervention resources. In specific response to anti-Asian hate incidents, it is partnering with the Chinese Information Service Center and other stakeholders to ensure community members have in-language information and customer forms to report any incidents.
As an agency that is values-driven and data-informed, King County Metro asks customers to report emergency situations immediately to 911. However, even if it is not an emergency, please still report the incident. The King County Sheriff Office’s non-emergency telephone line is 206-296-3311. King County Metro Customer Service can be reached by online form, social media or telephone.
To better provide rider-centered service information, King County Metro engaged with community members through its Customer Communications Improvement Initiative. This effort aims to ensure it is providing resources that are accessible to all and that every rider feels safe, comfortable and welcomed.
The agency says it similarly encourages all employees to report both urgent and less than urgent incidents. Having the best information allows King County Metro to better allocate resources and to continue to improve the transit network.
