The Trump administration is asking local transportation leaders to shore up safety on D.C. transit systems.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy sent letters last week to Amtrak, WMATA and D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser asking the agencies to produce a report on crime and safety within the next 30 days.
“Crime at our D.C. stations has been a problem for too long. Safety should be a traveler’s last concern when visiting our Nation’s Capital…”Duffy said in a video on X. “That’s why I’m calling on Amtrak, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority and Mayor Bowser to bolster security in our nation’s transportation systems.”
Duffy said he wants to “restore greatness” to D.C. — a line heard a lot from the Trump administration lately. He said that starts with improving the safety and security of the city’s transportation systems.
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For Metro specifically, Duffy wants to know what the transit agency is doing to cut crime and the number of people who hop the faregates.
Randy Clarke, Metro’s general manager, responded quickly online, thanking the Secretary, saying, “While we’ve made incredible progress, there’s still more work to do.”
Then there’s the letter to Amtrak’s CEO. Duffy said Amtrak needs to prevent crime and improve its management of Union Station. He even went so far as to suggest that Amtrak should work with the Department of Homeland Security on crime at the station.
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The rail agency told News4 in a statement they appreciate and agree with Secretary Duffy’s interest in a safe and clean Union Station.
These letters do come at a time where there have been some high-profile cases.
A few weeks ago, somebody was killed in Union Station, and a video of a brazen coat robbery on a moving Metro train went viral recently.
But at the same time, police statistics show things are moving in the right direction.
Metro, for example, says violent crime on the system dropped 40% last year.
And News4 searched the Metropolitan Police Department’s crime numbers. To date this year, there have been 27 crimes reported near 50 Massachusetts Avenue – the address of Union Station. In the same timeframe last year, there were 52 crimes.
