The Mineta Transportation Institute (MTI) has released a survey instrument that transit operators can use to collect information from passengers about the extent, location and characteristics of any street harassment they have experienced.
The development of the survey instrument was developed in accordance with California Senate Bill (SB) 1161, legislation introduced by State Sen. Dave Min (D-37). More recent legislation from Sen. Min, California SB 434, requires California’s 10 largest transit operators to document passenger experiences with harassment using the MTI survey or an equivalent and report the findings by the end of 2024.
According to Sen. Min, the law emphasizes outreach initiatives, targeting specific groups such as women, non-English speakers, members of the LGBTQ+ community and riders with disabilities.
MTI produced the survey instrument in English, Spanish and Chinese, as well as 11 AAPI languages with the support from Stop AAPI Hate.
In a report accompanying the survey instrument, author Asha Weinstein Agrawal explains the need for the research.
“Despite wide-spread acknowledgment that transit passenger harassment is a problem, most transit operators don’t know specifically who is targeted, what kinds of behaviors are common, the scale of the problem or how victims respond,” Weinstein Agrawal said.
While the California state law mandates the state’s largest transit providers publish the survey results by the end of 2024, MTI researchers believe transit operators throughout the country can benefit from use of the survey instrument. Use of the survey instrument can create awareness of why street harassment occurs and help transit agencies develop programs to combat it on their systems.
The report, “Learning about Street Harassment on Transit: Preparing a Survey Instrument for California Transit Agencies,” and the survey instrument can be found on MTI’s website.
