Philly Public Transit... "Is It Safe?"

By Rev. Michael Robinson, M.S.

“Is it safe?”??This is one of the most iconic Hollywood movie quotes ever made, incessantly uttered by the sadistic dentist Dr. Christian Szell, a secret Nazi war criminal character in the 1976 film?Marathon Man. (A great film, but I digress).??Is it safe?is an apropos?question for anyone riding SEPTA transit.

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On June 17, 2022, I was arbitrarily attacked by a homeless drug addict at the SEPTA 69th?Transportation Center in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania. While on my way to commute to work in Philadelphia, at the foot of SEPTA’s transportation center overpass, a ranting 30-ish white male ran up to me (an African American senior citizen) and spit in my face!?Hate crime??To be determined. I instinctively punched him in the face and a brutal fight ensued. When I was knocked to the ground, the vagrant drug addict grabbed my cell phone and backpack and tried to run off, but when I pursued him, he turned and pulled a knife and tried to stab me!?I, a senior citizen, should not have to deal with the threat of losing my life because of the laxed policies and policing SEPTA currently has in place.?If not for the fast response of the Upper Darby Police Department, my ordeal surely could have ended with me senselessly being murdered that day.?Is it safe?

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SEPTA has a transit police station on site at its 69th?Street Transportation Center, and the transit police are required to actively patrol the facility. So, it begs the question:?Why were Upper Darby Police quicker to respond than SEPTA Police to my incident? SEPTA Police were not visible during or after my ordeal, and the incident happened at their location!

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In April 2022, KYW News Radio reported that,?“The amount of serious crimes on SEPTA trains and buses rose drastically over the last three years, even as ridership fell because of the pandemic. Between 2019 and 2021,?robberies?and?assaults?nearly?doubled?on SEPTA. Robberies increased during that time from 118 to 217, and aggravated assaults went up from 46 in 2019 to 86 last year.”

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In the KYW report, Leslie Richards, SEPTA’s General Manager, said that overall crime for its transit system is leveling off, and that?“the pandemic exacerbated societal problems, and every major transit system in the country has been trying to address people who are homeless or suffering from addiction or mental health issues.”?Though SEPTA’s crime stats may be leveling, according to Richards, the fact remains that victims of crime on SEPTA properties and vehicles are left traumatized, physically and emotionally hurt, and in extreme cases - murdered.?Is it safe?

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According to SEPTA data, 40% of its riders are white patrons while “communities of color make up the majority of riders (60%). Within communities of color, African-American riders comprised the largest group, at 24 percent.”?Which places African Americans at greater risk of robberies, assaults, and other crimes that occur on SEPTA vehicles and transit center properties.

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If you go to SEPTA’s main website, good luck trying to glean any published crime stat information.?It’s not there! On July 26, 2022, I called SEPTA Customer Service to inquire whereabout are the crime stats for SEPTA to be found??Larry in Customer Service said SEPTA includes in crime stats with the Philadelphia Police Departments stats!?What?!?!?! Perceiving my dissatisfaction, Larry passed my call onto SEPTA Police for direct answers.?I was then connected with SEPTA Police Officer Troy Parham, badge #364/Vice President of the Fraternal Order of Transit Police-SEPTA. When I explained to Officer Parham I was seeking SEPTA crime stats for previous years and current year, he told me to contact SEPTA Customer Service. I told him Customer Service directed me to him. He seemed shocked that SEPTA crime stats were not accessible on SEPTA’s main website. He instructed me to call SEPTA Police Captain Darryl Jones, Special Operations, to secure the info that I wanted. I left a voicemail message with Captain Jones, and at the time of writing/submitting this column, I have not received a return call from him.?Is it safe?

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I serve as a member of SEPTA’s Community Advisory Committee - appointed by the previous and current General Manager to represent Delaware County regarding public transit issues.?Prior to my attack, for months I communicated a clarion call of safety concerns to SEPTA management to address the proliferation of the homeless, mentally ill, and drug addicted vagrants/squatters that are sullying SEPTA’s transit system.?These vagrants/squatters often don’t pay to ride vehicles; these vagrants/squatters openly use drugs on SEPTA vehicles and at SEPTA transit centers; these vagrants/squatters constantly harass riders begging for money; these vagrants/squatters leave behind filth, used drug needles, urine and defecation; and these vagrants/squatters commit crimes including robberies, assaults, and other crime that include rape and murder!?There is no justification for public transit riders having to tolerate such at-risk safety and sanitation issues!?Is it safe?

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An April 2022 Philadelphia Inquirer Newspaper article reported that, for many months, riders of SEPTA have?“complained on social media of rampant disorder: smoking, open use of IV drugs, and human waste and garbage in stations and on trains.”

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Instead of taking a zero-tolerance stance for such nefarious behavior and moving these drug addicts, homeless, and mentally ill squatters from its public transit vehicles and properties like New York is doing (America’s largest transit system), SEPTA prefers to act like a social service agency.?SEPTA’s soft handed social service approach has resulted in the enablement of these law breaking vagrants/squatters to exacerbate the problems of the filth and defacement of SEPTA vehicles and property they cause; increased safety risks resulting from their discarded drug needles they leave behind; annually, their urine, excrement, and vandalism causes millions of dollars of damage to vehicles and transit center properties; and their crime threatens the public safety of all SEPTA riders.?Is it safe?

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My complaints to SEPTA have been ongoing, but I’ve also alerted State Representative Gina Curry (a member of Pennsylvania’s Transportation Committee) and I’ve alerted Philadelphia City Council members of my concerns.?The issues plaguing SEPTA need an aggressive, strategic, collaborative, coordinated approach by SEPTA officials along with political leaders and law enforcement at the city, county, and state levels providing systemic solutions and resources.?The myriad of vagrant/squatter problems marring SEPTA should not be SEPTA’s sole responsibility to solve, that would be wrong for political leaders to turn a blind eye.

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I have complained about the safety risk that these vagrants/squatters pose to riders (particularly placing vulnerable children, women and senior citizens like me at high risk); and I’ve complained about the filth and defacement of property these vagrants/squatters cause to vehicles and transit centers - - and yet, no monumental changes have occurred, just band-aid social service approaches. ?In fact, a recent Fox 29 News report revealed that parts of below service properties are now off limits to public transit riders to accommodate the homeless, drug addict, and mentally ill squatters.?What I find most chilling is that SEPTA prefers to play the role of a social service agency rather than fully embracing and being what it truly is: The 6th?largest TRANSIT SYSTEM in America!?Is it safe?

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As a pastor, I fully understand the benevolence of being our brother’s keeper, but homelessness, mental illness, and drug addiction are not transit issues; these are issues that city, county, and state officials need to address!?To allow SEPTA to solely address such issues is a dereliction of duties of our city, county, and state government officials.

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The question remains,?Is it safe??If business continues as usual, it is NOT SAFE for SEPTA’s public transit customers to ride its system.?I’m a living witness… emphasis on LIVING.

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Regards,

Rev. Michael Robinson, M.S.

• Appointed Member, SEPTA Community Advisory Committee (CAC)
• Member, Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association (PNA)