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I was reporting the crime statistics for Dallas, which are probably different than the national trends.  Presumably, DART is not incurring millions of additional dollars for transit police protection because its vehicles and facilities are or are perceived to be safe zones.The number of riders on DART is up 8 to 11 per cent.  Many if not most of the new riders are middle to lower middle class commuters who had been driving but believe they can no longer afford it.  If past behavior and trends are indicators of the future, the number of riders will decline if the price of gasoline decreases.  As a former commercial pilot and flight instructor, I used to tell my friends that the most dangerous part of my job was the drive to the airport.  And the numbers support this assertion.  The chances of being killed or injured seriously while driving are greater than the chances of being killed or injured seriously on public transit.  But the crime that happens on transit is a different animal.  Muggings, robberies, verbal assaults (use of four letter words), teen rampages, panhandlers, etc. are the biggest threat on DART's trains.  For most people they are just as threatening as being killed or injured seriously.  Again, it comes back to perception.  It does not matter how safe DART management thinks it vehicles and facilities are.  Or what the statistics say!  What matters is what the people think.  And if one reads the comments that are submitted from time to time on DART surveys, as I have, it is clear that many people believe that crime and public transit in Dallas go hand in hand.      Whilst it is true that driving is more dangerous, at least in terms of serious injury or fatalities, than riding public transit, it is equally true that driving is considerably safer today than it was in the 1960s.  The fatality rate per vehicle mile traveled is approximately half of what it was then.  And if I am not mistaken, the injury rate per vehicle mile traveled has fallen as well.
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