Cynthia Tucker: DWRM
Cynthia Tucker, normally a courageous editorial writer who tells Atlanta citizens what they don’t want to hear, has suddenly become dainty when riding MARTA:
Two weeks ago, after a pleasant, hassle-free trip to Hartsfield-Jackson on MARTA, I gave some thought to taking the train more often. Right now, my car is in the shop. Couldn’t I take MARTA rather than renting a car?
No, I won’t. It gets dark early, and I don’t take MARTA after the sun goes down. I don’t feel safe.
My response:
I’ve ridden MARTA for years. At one time, I used to live in Smyrna, and it was faster for me to park at the Holmes station and ride MARTA to Five Points from there — never had an incident beyond some guy selling socks and incense in the afternoons. Even when I rode back to Holmes very late at night, my personal safety was never threatened.
There are some things MARTA could do to make the system safer.
First, enforce fare gates more vigorously. Anyone who evades fare should at least be stopped for a while as an officer checks the evader’s ID. It’s a very good way of catching people who have warrants out for their arrest.
Second, make the police presence visible on the trains. Plain clothes officers may help catch sock sellers, but they’re a very ineffective way to maintain order on the system. Maintaining order will have the greatest impact on the perception of safety.
Third, discontinue M*PACT. This is the reason why it can be easier to see a MARTA police officer in a car than riding the system. I’ve heard about this program from several MARTA employees — all of whom acknowledge that M*PACT’s approach lacks common sense.
Overall, I feel much safer on MARTA than I do driving Atlanta’s suburbs. Having ridden the system’s trains and busses at all hours of the night and day, I am confident in the safety and security of the system. However, this is an area where MARTA could really stand to improve its image.
February 9th, 2007 at 10:23 am
Amen! Bring back the posted officer on every train. I used to ride MARTA to and from downtown fairly late at night (after 10 p.m.). I only had issues twice - once with a guy who was clearly unwell and muttering about how he was going to kill somebody, and once with a very friendly drunk guy who tried to follow me off the train - there was a uniformed officer immediately available. In general, I feel pretty safe on MARTA, even as a woman travelling alone.
February 9th, 2007 at 12:18 pm
I think your suggestions are helpful. Unfortunately, I have been threatened on trains. Even if I hadn’t been though, one must realize that in our society perception often equals reality. In my opinion one of the primary reasons that more folks don’t ride MARTA is out of fear for personal safety. There has got to be a more uniformed police presence in stations and on trains to fix this perception.
February 9th, 2007 at 2:08 pm
As someone new to the area and haven’t taken my first ride on MARTA, it may be a good chance to get out my camcorder and see what my first impressions of MARTA are. It would be interesting to see the difference in prospective from a newbe and someone that rides it daily or weekly.
That is if i didn’t get my camcorder stolen!
February 13th, 2007 at 12:01 pm
I know I’m safer on MARTA than driving. I’m a very safe, defensive driver, but getting in a car is several times more likely to lead to injury or death than riding a train (or plane).
The increased presence of uniformed officers on MARTA trains is a good idea, because perceptions do matter, and people need to feel safe, but let’s keep in mind some realistic calculation of risk.