This study is directed toward identifying the influence that crime has on transit ridership and toward developing measures for increasing patron and system security on a major transit network. Because of the preponderance of crime and harassment on rapid transit as opposed to surface transit, recommendations are directed toward test demonstrations on the rapid transit segment of the system. All suggested improvements are based on systematic analyses of transit crime patterns, ridership trends, a survey of public perception of transit crime, present security measures, and general operating procedures. Profiles of transit crime are derived from an 18-month series of crime data collected on the system. A crimeridership index is employed to measure risk to patrons on various parts of the transit system. Present inadequacies in surveillance and response capability of police are described. The question of increasing manned patrols as opposed to substituting electronic or mechanical systems is examined from the viewpoint of assuring patrons of rapid protective response should an emergency arise. A publicly activated closed-circuit television system is offered as one means of addressing the security needs on highrisk portions of the rapid transit network.

• TRANSIT OPERATORS throughout the nation have long recognized the potentially injurious effect that crime has on public confidence in mass transit systems. The presumption is that withdrawal of confidence is accompanied by a withdrawal in patronage as well. With the prospect of rapidly expanding existing systems and the construction of new ones, this issue is increasingly important. This is particularly true for rail rapid transit serving suburban metropolitan areas where the justification of the system will depend, to a large extent, on its ability to draw commuters away from private automobiles. It is the image of these systems that will determine, to a great extent, the outcome of the quest for new riders. Though residents of the inner city are captive to public transit and few possess the means to avoid its use, it is suggested that the appearance of crime may well be at the basis of declining use. Furthermore, there is a growing possibility that potential suburban riders will be disproportionately discouraged from public transit by their anxiety about crime. Because of their relative collective inexperience with crime, potential suburban riders are more likely to be alarmed by the presence of crime on public transit even if it occurs far from the neighborhoods or routes they frequent. The transit security problem clearly illustrates the interdependence between the lives of city and suburban dwellers. Not only must the burden of crime be lifted from inner-city residents as a matter of public service, but such action is mandatory if suburban patrons are to feel sufficiently secure on public transit to make its use a regular part of their daily lives. An overall approach to the question of crime on transit systems has three general components: