Seattle light rail see assaults on passengers spike 53%, 80% against transit workers

Passenger assaults and attacks on transit workers have spiked on the light rail in the Greater Seattle area, leaving transit officials confused if crime is up or rather just being more accurately reported. According to the Sound Transit report, passenger assaults have jumped by over 53 percent, while attacks on transit workers has spiked over 80 percent since 2023.

Sound Transit claims the shocking increases are the result of improved crime reporting due to extra security guards in the transit system. In 2023, KOMO News reported that hundreds of additional security officers were being assigned to patrol Sound Transit's system.

According to the report, "When reporting options are simple and the public is informed on what and how to report events, the number of reports increases," noting the agency’s public safety unit also saw an increase in reporting.

The report added that in April 2023, Sound Transit began "logging a record of physical and nonphysical assaults on transit workers" regardless of injury, noting that barriers have been added to Sound Transit Express buses to protect drivers, and train operators can now request security to escort violent passengers away from platforms.

Sound Transit has been unable to avoid bad headlines regarding safety issues in its system. In September 2023, a 39-year-old man was arrested after attacking two people with a hammer at the Beacon Hill Link light rail, including a 63-year-old woman who had recently undergone surgery for a brain tumor.

A 26-year-old man was arrested for a stabbing that killed a man at the Capitol Hill Link light rail station in May of 2024. Security was increased again following a Feb 2024 shooting on the light rail.