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119-s-5492119th CongressWALLET

Safe Transit Act

Sponsored By: Senator Hagerty, Bill [R-TN]

Introduced

Summary

Ties federal transit grants to safety, crime-prevention, and public reporting. This bill would require transit systems to spend more on safety, add cameras and event recorders to new vehicles, create a public family-friendly scorecard, set a 3% safety set-aside, and allow penalties for noncompliance while banning broad $0-fare programs in very large urban bus systems.

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  • Families: Would create a Family Friendly Transit Scorecard with letter grades and require systems to display those grades at stations and terminals, aiming to improve accessibility and reliability.
  • Transit workers: Would fund assault-mitigation infrastructure, operator barriers, inward/outward-facing cameras, de-escalation training, and allow hiring or contracting of transit officers to boost worker safety.
  • Riders and low-income passengers: Would prohibit fully free-fare programs in urbanized areas of 200,000+ people that operate at least 100 buses during peak hours, while allowing narrow exceptions like emergencies and fully subsidized corridors.
  • Transit agencies and local governments: Would require a mandatory not-less-than 3% §5307 set-aside for safety and crime-prevention projects, expand incident reporting to the National Transit Database, and authorize withholding up to 100% of formula funds for persistent noncompliance starting in FY2028.

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Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

4 provisions identified: 0 benefits, 1 costs, 3 mixed.

More safety funding and standards for transit

This bill would require transit agencies that get section 5307 grants to spend at least 3% of those funds each year on system safety, crime prevention, and personal safety projects. The eligible uses would expand to include lighting, inward and outward cameras, event recorders, operator barriers, farebox upgrades, cybersecurity, hiring transit officers, and some operating costs for enforcement. The Secretary must set minimum fare-evasion infrastructure standards within 90 days and require large systems to certify purchases that meet the standards for FY2027. The Secretary would also issue rules within one year requiring new federally funded buses and rail cars to have inward and outward cameras and event recorders.

New penalties and fund withholdings

This bill would make formula grants conditional on annual certifications and progress toward safety, crime-prevention, and family-friendliness targets. If a recipient fails to make progress, the Secretary could withhold up to 100% of apportioned formula funds after a 30-day cure period. Beginning FY2028, the Secretary must withhold funds when local law does not criminalize fare evasion or lacks certain bans or release rules, after 30 days to fix the issue. The Secretary may also withhold up to 25% or 50% of funds for large systems whose per-capita offense rates exceed the national average by specified percentages (10%, >25% but <50%, and ≥50% triggers).

Reporting apps, cameras, and scorecards

This bill would require large transit recipients (200,000+ urbanized area) to make an electronic app for passengers to report assaults and other safety problems. The Secretary would create an annual Family Friendly Transit Scorecard and methodology and large systems would have to post a letter grade at stations and on websites. The bill would also require agencies to publish images of people caught on security cameras committing crimes within 7 days and keep them posted at least 45 days, unless the FTA waives it. The bill adds legal definitions of "assault" and "assault on a transit worker" for reporting and enforcement.

Ban on most free rides in big cities

This bill would ban most $0 fare programs in urbanized areas with 200,000 or more people that operate at least 100 buses at peak hours. Exceptions would cover seniors, people with disabilities, children, students, veterans, short event or disaster programs, and programs fully paid by a third party or a local corridor tax. If enacted, some free-ride pilots would end and riders could pay more or local governments would need to subsidize fares.

Sponsors & CoSponsors

Sponsor

Hagerty, Bill [R-TN]

TN • R

Cosponsors

There are no cosponsors for this bill.

Roll Call Votes

No roll call votes available for this bill.

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