On Tuesday, May 28th, a Metro bus driver was attacked by a passenger in the heart of LA’s Koreatown. The incident has sparked controversy due to the police’s delayed response.
The Metro driver, who wished to remain anonymous, had a dispute with a man at the intersection of Wilshire and Serrano in Koreatown. The man attempted to board the bus, but the driver did not open the door as it was not a designated stop.
The man aggressively blocked the bus, began throwing beer at the windshield, and started causing a scene. He then opened the driver’s side window and began pouring beer into the driver’s seat.
At the time, dozens of passengers were on the bus. The Metro bus driver contacted the supervisor for help, but no one came to assist for an hour.
The supervisor informed the driver that the LA Police Department was currently busy with other important tasks and could not immediately respond.
The Metro Department stated that they had notified the LA PD within 5 minutes of the driver being attacked and expressed hope that law enforcement would respond promptly in the future.
This incident exposes the security vulnerabilities of Metro buses and subways. As concerns over the safety of Metro buses and subways are increasing, LA Metro authorities have announced strong security measures at the Metro board meeting, but crimes continue daily.
Most of the incidents occurring in LA Metro are caused by homeless people, mentally ill individuals, and drug addicts. Experts say that the problem persists because there are no fundamental measures against the issues caused by these groups.
The most urgent issue for LA Metro is to establish a Metro Police Department to expand Metro police forces and focus on safety tasks. The LAPD and local police are understaffed and cannot actively respond to Metro crimes.
LA Metro’s response method seems to be to operate available resources efficiently to maintain Metro safety, but it is impossible to maintain public transportation safety in LA with this method. It is a well-known fact that the police force, which cannot even manage street security, lacks the capacity to deal with various crimes occurring in subways or buses.
The failure to establish fundamental measures despite knowing these problems is a mistake of Metro leadership and even dereliction of duty.
The only answer for a safe Metro system is reform of the Metro.
