I don’t believe public transportation has become more dangerous lately.
I believe reporting on public transportation has gotten more dangerous,
because obviously, if it bleeds, it leads,
and everybody loves a scary story.

My mother won’t take the train anymore
partially because the stairs are a bitch
but mostly because she’s afraid.
I can convince her, sometimes,
to ride the rails with me as her protector
(especially if there’s an elevator in sight)
but she’s mostly about the buses now
– which she also complains about sometimes.

I don’t doubt that subway stats might have gone up
in recent years.
Apparently, between twenty one and twenty two,
crime went up underground.
Imagine, as life returned to normal
after the pandemic,
more regular behaviors re-emerged.
Gomer Pyle would say “Sooprize, sooprize, sooprize!”

Of course the police would pick up on this
and seek to capitalize on the data.
Why wouldn’t they want a chance
to increase market share wherever they can?
Isn’t that their mandate?

I don’t have much of a dog in this fight
as I drive around most of the time,
but this talking head’s guess is that the trains
are same as they ever was.