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Report: DC Metrobus Has Highest Rate Of Crime IN THE COUNTRY

REUTERS/Gary Cameron

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Steve Birr Vice Reporter
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Riders on the Washington, D.C., Metrobus system are apparently putting their lives in the hands of the most dangerous public bus service of any major city in the country.

Data from the National Transit Database reveals startling rates of crime and safety incidents on the Metrobus system, well above the rates of other major transit systems across the country. Risk of a collision or passenger injury are higher on a D.C. Metrobus than in New York City, Boston or Chicago, according to The Washington Post.

Metrobus suffers roughly 2.8 security incidents per 10 billion passenger trips, which is defined as any crime committed on board a transit bus. Metro serves roughly 465,000 riders on a daily basis over a 1500 square mile area. D.C.’s bus transit system is the sixth largest in the country, but tops all major U.S. cities in collisions, crime and injuries. (RELATED: Armed Man Hijacks DC Metrobus, Fatally Hits Pedestrian)

Riders on a D.C. Metrobus are four times as likely to be injured or killed than riders in New York City. The Metrobus system in D.C. suffers 23.9 injuries and fatalities per every 10 billion passenger trips, higher than any major city in the country. Injuries and fatalities on a public bus system are only higher in New Jersey and southern Pennsylvania.

Officials with the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) said Metrobuses were involved in 46 crashes with pedestrians or bicyclists in 2015 injuring 22 people, some resulting from driver error.

A man armed with a weapon hijacked a Metrobus in early May, critically hitting a pedestrian who died from their injuries. The hijacker told authorities after his arrest that he had smoked PCP and synthetic marijuana before going on the rampage.

A passing truck clipped a Metrobus in early June sending it veering off the road into a tree, severely injuring the driver and sending ten passengers to the hospital. Emergency crews spent roughly 25 minutes working to remove the bus driver from his seat, shattering windows in order to free him.

Metrobuses are taking on an extra workload throughout the D.C. Metro’s 10-month SafeTrack repair plan, ferrying frustrated commuters to alternate stations during the various stages of maintenance work.

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