Crime is declining on the Metro system, but riders’ perceptions of safety depend on which mode of transportation they use.
Riders on Metrobus reported more safety concerns than those on Metrorail. Overall, however, rider satisfaction rates are either flat or improving, according to data reported at the Sept. 11 meeting of the Metropolitan Washington Area Transit Authority’s safety and operations committee.
On Metrobus, the 13% dissatisfaction rate declined from 15% a year before and 17% in fiscal year 2023.
On the Metrorail system, meanwhile, 9% of riders reported concerns about safety and harassment in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2025. That’s unchanged from the same period a year before and down from 17% in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2023.
“Customers say they feel so much safer in the system than they did three years ago,” Metro general manager Randy Clarke told committee members.
Crime data supports that feeling. Criminal incidents per million passenger trips stood at 3.7 in fiscal year 2025, down from 6.5 in FY 2024 and 7.2 in FY 2023.
“We’re actually on pace to have the lowest crime year we’ve ever had,” Clarke said. Electronic data stretches back 25 years.
Leadership of the transit agency has taken multiple steps to address both petty crime like fare evasion and more serious incidents such as assaults on employees.
Riders and employees “expect and deserve a safe system,” said Jordan Holt, WMATA’s senior director of performance, benchmarking and customer service.
“We’re always aiming to improve,” Holt said. “We’ll be continuing those strategies we’ve seen success with.”
Fairfax County Supervisor Walter Alcorn, who serves on the WMATA board and chairs the safety/operations committee, said it was good for members to hear both the successes and challenges of the preceding year.
“The culture of continuous improvement is so important,” he said.
One place where the transit system continues to face challenges: buses showing up late. The on-time performance rate for Metrobus has seen a decline from the two preceding years, in part because of increasing roadway congestion in the post-Covid world.
While seemingly a separate issue from crime, WMATA board member Tracy Hadden Loh said issues are often interconnected.
“All these pieces fit together. Frequency and reliability of service also speaks to safety,” said Hadden Loh, a D.C. representative on the WMATA board.
“If we keep people moving and not waiting around, the system is going to be safer,” she said.
Alcorn agreed.
“The shortest time on the system is actually a positive thing,” he said of the rider experience.
