Articles

Public transportation is a necessity for many people in New York City. According to the US Census Bureau (2019) 7,778,444 people used public transportation daily. But this innovation could also have some drawbacks as NYC is a big city with a population of 8.468 million people. 

Fatoumata Diallo, a sophomore at Pelham Lab High School, is one of the people who travel by bus to conduct their daily business. 

“I usually travel by bus,” she said. “I sometimes feel uncomfortable and unsafe because some people on the bus are arguing which turned into a fight. Once I got on the bus and in 3 to 4 minutes it got shut down and all the passengers including me had to wait 15 to 30 minutes for the other bus to come pick us up,” said Diallo. 

While some people use buses in their daily life others mostly use trains. Markis Dossantos, who is a junior in Pelham Lab High School, said, “I usually feel safe but then I heard about the shooting and right after a few days I had to take a train. At that point I felt unsafe just because of the incident I heard. Most of the time the trains are delayed which always makes you late to wherever you are going,” said Dossantos.

Not only students but staff also travel by public transport such as trains. Nancy Santiago, paraprofessional in Pelham Lab High School, mentioned that it is not really safe to travel in trains because she saw a robbery occur which caused her trust to diminish. She also feels frustrated about the delays that subways have. 

“I don't feel safe traveling alone. One time I was sitting and the guy was standing. I saw a person come up to the guy standing and open his back from behind and take his belongings in that pocket at the back of the bag. They are always delayed when you get on and don’t know when you are gonna get home,” said Santiago, of her train travel.

Crime Statistics 

According to the New York City Police Department (NYPD) monthly report of complaints for offenses occurring in transit jurisdiction 12  during December 2022 and January 2023  the number of crimes decreased over the period of the month.