SEPTA releases strategy to address safety and security on its transit system

Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) has announced that it has released a comprehensive plan, ‘Leading the Way: SEPTA’s Response to Safety and Security’, laying out in detail what the problems facing the authority are, where they are on the system and what SEPTA is doing to address and resolve them.

Detailing its ongoing strategy for addressing safety, security and the challenges of the vulnerable population on its system, the strategic plan also outlines the actions that can be taken by riders, employees, policymakers and the business community to help deliver a safer and more secure transit system.

SEPTA’s Safety, Cleaning, Ownership, Partnership and Engagement (SCOPE) programme – which had been created in 2021 as a systemwide, co-ordinated effort to connect vulnerable individuals with social services and provide a safe, clean transit system for riders and employees – lays the foundation of the authority’s new strategy.

“We are tackling some of the most difficult issues society faces, and we need the involvement of everyone in pursuing solutions,” said SEPTA General Manager and CEO Leslie S. Richards. “Our investment in SCOPE is critical to ensuring SEPTA can provide safe, secure and reliable service that supports our city and region through the current recovery and for the long-term.”

MTA to install bus enforcement cameras across nine routes by end of 2022

In its first year, SCOPE has mobilised scores of partners in government, the non-profit and business sectors and academia to help address the challenges of the vulnerable population, which includes individuals experiencing homelessness, substance abuse and mental health issues. The authority has also enhanced its security measures, increased its cleaning schedules and vastly expanded the number of social service outreach workers on the system from seven to more than 50.

“As workers return to offices throughout the region, SEPTA will continue to rely on its SCOPE strategy to ensure that its system is safe, clean, reliable and efficient,” said SEPTA Chief Operating Officer Scott Sauer. “There is nothing more important to us than the safety of our riders, the vulnerable individuals on our system and our 9,000-plus employees.”

The SCOPE outreach personnel work in close co-ordination with the SEPTA Transit Police Department, which has increased patrols on trains and at stations in recent months.

“SEPTA knows that riders have concerns about safety and security on the system, and we are addressing them,” said Acting Police Chief Charles Lawson. “We have increased police visibility to deter crime, and we are closely monitoring feedback from our customers to respond to quality-of-life concerns.”