King County Executive Constantine outlines new community-led Metro safety proposal to King County Council
King County Metro Transit launched its Safety, Security and Fare Enforcement Reform (SaFE Reform) Initiative in 2020 following King County Executive Dow Constantine’s declaration that racism is a public health crisis.
The initiative had two goals in mind: to create a new vision for King County Metro’s safety and security functions, and to eliminate disproportionately negative outcomes of safety and security policies and practices on customers and employees, especially for Black, Indigenous and other People of Color (BIPOC). The initial SaFE Reform report was transmitted to the King County Council last week.
King County Metro worked with diverse community-based organizations and engaged with roughly 8,000 individuals—including community members, customers and Metro and Metro Transit Police employees—throughout a year-long, four-phase engagement process. Together, these stakeholders developed a vision statement of a, “safe, accessible and equitable transit that is co-created to support community well-being,” supported by several concepts outlined in the SaFE Report transmitted to the Council.
“Through authentic engagement with bus riders and our workforce, the SaFE Reform Initiative brings the lived experience of community members, customers and employees to make transit a more welcoming and secure environment for everyone,” said Executive Constantine. “These preliminary strategies advance our journey to being a racially-just county where all of us can thrive. While we work to implement these longer-term strategies, Metro will prioritize the same values as they take immediate actions to improve the safety and experience of Metro’s riders and employees today.”
Community members identified three consistent themes. First, community members expressed a clear desire for an increased presence, a timely and appropriate response if a danger arises and that support shows up in an equitable way. Second, King County Metro should make the expectations of its Code of Conduct clear and should ensure that small transgressions are not a pathway into the criminal legal system. And third, King County Metro should partner with community-based organizations to improve non-transit resources available to customers, and assist customers in crises related to fares, homelessness, mental health, etc., at various locations throughout the transit system.
The proposed initial concepts outlined in the report reflect the robust SaFE Reform Initiative work that is still underway with the community. Each of the proposed initial concepts requires additional engagement with BIPOC community members, community-based organizations, bus riders and employees to identify specific costs, features, functions and timelines. King County Metro will continue working with both internal and external stakeholders to do this work in the weeks and months ahead.
Near-term actions to address safety on buses
Since last summer, in response to increased concerns onboard coaches, King County Metro increased security personnel, specifically focusing on routes with higher reports of incidents. King County Metro is in the process of hiring more than 50 additional transit security officers to provide 24/7 visibility and support across a broader range of routes. The agency says it continues to monitor and adjust security deployment to support the ongoing safety of both operators and riders.
However, some inappropriate behaviors are taking place that can impact the health and safety of employees and other transit users. In the coming weeks, King County Metro is also utilizing community feedback from the SaFE Reform Initiative to implement near-term updates to policies and practices related to inappropriate conduct and misuse of the transit system. The agency is working with Metro Transit Police and service providers to implement new policies to address drinking, illegal drug use and smoking on transit.
Additionally, King County Metro is developing a pilot program in response to a small number of instances of customers who do not deboard when their bus has completed its route and is set to return to base. King County Metro’s approach to these riders continues to be guided by compassion and aims to connect those in need of behavioral, housing and social support with those opportunities.
In cases where individuals have rejected those resources and services and continue to affect King County Metro’s ability to provide on-time transit service or the safety of operators, Metro Transit Police will assist in removing these individuals from the bus. King County Metro will monitor the pilot and, in coordination with employees and community partners as part of the SaFE Reform effort, determine refinements and future steps.
“At King County Metro, we believe mobility is a human right and that everyone has the right to move. Across our organization, we are holding ourselves accountable for the role we played in allowing historical systemic practices that cause harm to persist,” said King County Metro General Manager Terry White. “Through the SaFE Reform process, we intentionally sought out the voices of historically marginalized and silenced communities, and committed to an inclusive process of co-creation from start to finish. I thank community members, customers and colleagues for their dedication to advancing safety and expanding opportunity.”
While the SaFE Reform report acknowledges the limited ability of transit to affect broader societal upstream problems, the proposed initial concepts in the document are crafted to contribute to the well-being of Metro customers and employees. King County and Metro continue to develop these policy improvements with community members, employees, labor partners and other King County departments to increase safety today, and to engage with transit riders to shape the policies of the future. Together, King County Metro will continue to advance the executive’s True North vision of making King County a welcoming community where every person can thrive.
