2022 Transit Safety & Security Report Transit agencies and their partners are working to match customer perception with information from data to promote and deliver safer mobility options. By Mischa Wanek-Libman, editor in chief T he North American transit industry continues its recovery from the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic. Riders are slowly but steadily returning to systems in Canada and the United States with new benchmarks in ridership regularly achieved. A renewed focus on the customer experience has prompted special attention on the safety of systems, and how statistics and public perception are matched up against each other. In August, Mineta Transportation Institute (MTI) released the findings from a global study, " Changing Patterns of Violence Pose New Challenges for Public Transport, " that found countries with advanced economies account for a growing percentage of incidents worldwide, with the United States taking the lead in the total number of incidents and number of fatalities in those countries. By analyzing data from 5,611 attacks against all public surface transport tar22 | Mass Transit | MassTransitmag.com | NOVEMBER 2022 By the numbers 146.69 streetcar injuries per 10 million VRM BRT injuries per 10 million VRM 118.05 3.83 commuter rail injuries per 10 million VRM NTD reports modes operating in central cities with more stops have a higher chance of injury compared to modes that travel longer distance. *2021 National Transit Database National Transit Summaries & Trends 1125503545 | mathisworks, 1306286394 | DmitryMo | Getty Imageshttp://www.MassTransitmag.com