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Transit staff report spike in safety incidents; committee reviews security expansion and proposed felony for assaults on transit workers
Summary
MAPA staff reported a month-to-month increase in incidents including public intoxication, verbal and physical assaults, and a driver threatened by a passenger who claimed to have a gun. Staff proposed additional security hours in the 2027 budget, a mobile response patrol from Signal Security, and discussions with legislators to make assault on a transit employee a class C felony.
MAPA staff reported May 20 that April showed a rise in safety incidents across the transit network and outlined next steps, including training, increased security coverage and an initiative to seek statutory changes that would increase penalties for assaults on transit workers.
Cole, MAPA staff, said recent driver safety survey results prompted a suite of operational responses: a distributed safety memo to operators clarifying fair-enforcement and transfer policies, specialized training developed with a former police officer, and a budget request to add 23 hours per week of security coverage at the Ground Transportation Center in 2027. "We're going to be proposing additional security service hours in the 2027 budget," he said.
Incident highlights: Cole cataloged several recent events. Among them: a physical altercation on a bus (reported as April 6), a driver spit on at the West Acres Mall transit hub, a teenager who lit a stink bomb on a bus where a passenger removed it before it detonated, and a significant incident at NDSU Barry Hall where a driver was threatened by a passenger who claimed to have a gun; Fargo PD responded, arrested and trespassed the suspect. Cole said staff praised the driver for de-escalation efforts.
Signal Security, the contracted guard provider, said its on-site presence and de-escalation approach has reduced police calls since the contract began. Eric Jorgensson, local operations manager, proposed a mobile response patrol—marked patrol vehicles that would traverse routes and be available to respond by radio to incidents away from hubs to keep routes moving and to offer faster on-route support.
Legal and policy response: Cole said staff has begun discussions with legal counsel and prospective legislators to pursue a change to the North Dakota code to designate assault on a public transit employee as a class C felony to align transit workers with EMTs and police officers in statutory protections.
Members asked for year-over-year trend data and asked staff to track both negative incidents and positive interventions. Staff said Signal provides daily incident reports that will be refined with additional categories (medical, intoxication, positive interactions) and that MAPA will prepare year-over-year comparisons, noting Signal began the contract Feb. 1, 2025.
Next steps: Staff will include proposed security-hours costs in the 2027 budget materials and continue outreach to legislators and law enforcement on the statutory proposal.
