When violent crimes take place on public transportation, a recurring question emerges: how safe are transit services in U.S. cities?
A new YouGov poll of 6,776 U.S. adults finds that when it comes to crime, more Americans view public transportation in U.S. cities as safe than dangerous. People who frequently use public transportation also tend to see it as safer than people who do not use it at all.
The results show that public transportation use in the U.S. is highest among people who live in cities — with 49% of city dwellers saying they use public transportation at least monthly compared to 29% overall. Democrats (39%) are more likely to use public transportation than Republicans (30%) and Independents (21%).
About half of U.S. adults (48%) see public transportation in cities as "very safe" or "somewhat safe," but it is perceived as safer by people who use it monthly or more frequently (78%), Democrats (62%), and people who live in cities (61%).
Two in five U.S. adults (39%) say city transportation is very or somewhat dangerous, with that belief being highest among people who never use public transportation (54%), people living in rural communities (47%), people living in the suburbs (46%), and Republicans (46%).
— Taylor Orth contributed to this article
See the results from this poll:
- How often do you use public transportation (e.g. buses, subways, commuter rails, light rails, etc.)?
- How safe or dangerous would you say public transportation is in U.S. cities when it comes to crime?
- When it comes to public transportation, do you think passengers should be required to pay a flat fare (meaning the same price regardless of the distance traveled) or a differentiated fare (meaning a different price based on the distance traveled)?
Methodology: This Daily Questions survey was conducted by YouGov using a nationally representative sample of 6,776 U.S. adults interviewed online on January 23 - 24, 2023. The samples were weighted to be representative of the U.S. population, based on gender, age, race, education, U.S. census region, and political party.
Image: Adobe Stock (Pink Badger)
