Sometimes, #mbta means more problems than just a delayed train: On Monday evening, a teenager was stabbed on the Red Line around 5:15 at Park Street. There are pedestrians hit by trains, bus drivers throwing coffee at other drivers, and closing train doors that make riders fear for our lives, but what happens when it’s not the T, but passengers putting others at risk?
On a visit to Singapore a few years ago, I saw signs on the MRT (Mass Rapid Transit) advising riders and resident to “Let your hair down, not your guard.” Agree to disagree (or agree to agree) on Singapore’s public safety measures, but the fact that the government believes it has to advertise the possibility of danger? Seems ridiculous. One would think that the residents and public transit-riders in a major international city(-state), one would think alertness and awareness of danger would be second nature.
So, during my brief time in Singapore, I laughed at those signs. Similarly, I chuckle at other such signage. Apparently ignorance of crime is an international problem!
And yet…
On the rare occasion that I ride the T, I rarely think about safety. I’m not throwing my wallet around or seeking out dark alleys or anything, but I’m hardly hyper-conscious of my surroundings. I consider Boston a safe city. I feel comfortable walking through the Common at night, I don’t think twice about hopping on a train or a bus. Are there neighborhoods and alleyways and places I am less likely to venture to alone and afterhours? Of course. But are T stops those places? Nope.
So, I’m going to take a moment to remind myself (and others) that my most-used T stop actually had the most reported crime last year. Sure, T crime in Boston is down from years past, but we’re still in a major city. Want to lower some of those crime rates? Be more alert. Be safe!
Do you feel safe on the T? Do you have tips for other riders? Suggestions for the T? How can we be safer on the T? How about in Boston, generally?
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I am willing to bet the stabbing was not “random” – that stabber and victim knew each other. So by itself, maybe not cause to stop riding the T.
I’d be more concerned about the infrastructure. Read the D’Alessandro report (especially the part about Red Line wall panels). What about all those track fires? We’ve been incredibly lucky to date – they’ve mostly been fairly minor (but with sometimes major effects on riders).
I’ve have to agree with Adam that this was not random. Whenever I hear of stabbings in public places like this, I think back to fights in the cafe in highschool, premedative and in a place where it will be broken up fast.
I always feel relatively safe when taking the T or Bus, even in the early mornings or late nights. I was surprized last night when I got home from work and heard about the stabbing, giving that I had just taken the T from Downtown Crossing.
[...] wondered how dangerous the T is and Adam Gaffin of Universal Hub fame dropped by to let us know we should be more worried about maintenance. He’s [...]