Metro presents 2023–24 safety data, says reported drug incidents fell and outlines 2025 strategies

King County Metro officials on April 15 told the Transportation, Economy and Environment Committee that reported safety and security incident rates have come down from pandemic-era peaks and that Metro plans to use data, regional partnerships and targeted staffing to reduce incidents further in 2025.

The briefing, requested by a proviso in the 2025 county budget, covered incident counts and rates for 2023 and 2024, Metro’s current performance targets and planned strategies for 2025. Metro staff presented incident counts and rates per million boardings for categories including transit worker assaults, passenger disturbances, reported drug use, harassment and “sleeper/non‑destination” riders.

Metro said reported transit worker assaults — defined to include physical assaults and spitting against any Metro employee — totaled 79 incidents in 2023 and 85 incidents in 2024, averaging less than one assault per million boardings. Metro Director of Safety and Security Rebecca Frankhauser told the committee, “This is an aspirational goal, but no assault is okay on our system.”

Metro reported 408 passenger‑disturbance incidents in 2023 and 428 in 2024 (roughly 5–6 per million boardings). Reported drug‑use incidents were the most frequently filed category in 2023 at about 1,236 incidents (approximately 16 per million boardings) and decreased to about 678 incidents in 2024 (about 9 per million). Harassment and threats rose from roughly 523 incidents in 2023 to about 809 in 2024; Metro said fewer than one‑third of harassment incidents occurred on vehicles, with about two‑thirds occurring at stops, layovers, park‑and‑rides or transit centers. “Sleeper and non‑destination” rider reports rose from about 1,157 in 2023 to about 1,404 in 2024; Metro noted that tracking that metric is required by the Federal Transit Administration’s National Transit Database even though community members may not view it as a primary safety concern.

Metro presented its top 10 routes for total incidents in 2023–24 as the A Line, E Line, 7, D Line, F Line, Route 150, Route 306, C Line, Route 40 and Route 75. The agency said roughly 33% of reported incidents occurred on vehicles, about 35% at bus stops, 12% at layovers and 5% at transit centers.

To address incidents, Metro described a combination of tactics: continuing and expanding data‑driven deployments of transit security officers and Metro Transit Police where incident counts and operational impacts are highest; targeted station or terminal deployments (Metro began deploying transit security officers to terminals in April 2022); coordinated “safety ride” security coverage on top routes; and increased law enforcement presence in response to localized spikes, such as intensified Metro Transit Police deployments around 12th and Jackson in late 2024.

Metro also emphasized regional collaboration. The agency said it launched a security emphasis coordination team and is participating in the King County Regional Transit Safety Task Force with labor and local jurisdictions. Task force recommendations — which Metro said may include staffing, technology, infrastructure or operational changes — are due to the council in September 2025.

Committee members raised questions about the completeness of incident reporting and public accessibility of the data. Council Member Dembowski said he did not believe operator filings alone capture the full extent of drug‑use incidents. Metro staff said they are exploring rider‑facing reporting options and have a project underway to evaluate tools similar to apps used by other transit agencies; they also noted outreach to employees to show how reported incidents are used to direct resources.

Metro told the committee it has shifted some staffing patterns to better cover late‑night hours: as of April 15 Metro reported expanded “night owl” coverage aimed at reaching more than 95% of downtown‑core routes. Metro said its strategic plan dashboard shows passenger assaults that rise to a level of criminal prosecution, and staff committed to follow‑up to share presentation slides and links to rider surveys and other materials cited in the briefing.

No formal committee action was taken on the briefing itself; Metro staff said they would provide follow‑up materials and that the task force will present recommendations later this year.