U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has directed the Federal Transit Administration to launch an investigation of Atlanta’s Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority.
The investigation, which will review the transit agency’s security spending, safety protocols, and risks to riders and workers, comes on the heels of two attacks in broad daylight on MARTA property in a week’s time:
- On May 30, a 66-year-old woman was fatally stabbed 20 times by a man while riding a MARTA train.
- On May 24, a 40-year-old man was stabbed multiple times following an altercation in a MARTA station.
“Every American should be disturbed by the horrific crimes we have seen on MARTA in the last month. No one should be forced to fear for their safety simply because they choose to ride public transit,” Duffy said in a release. “From our nation’s capital to Chicago, we’ve made substantial progress in holding systems accountable and enhancing security for transit workers and riders. President Trump has made it clear that American families deserve better, and that’s what we are going to deliver in Georgia too.”
MARTA’s rate of personal security events (assaults, robberies, rapes, etc.) for MARTA employees and riders is nearly twice the national average. This trend is particularly concerning on MARTA’s rail lines, where the rate is three-and-a-half times higher than the national average.
The FTA investigation will determine if systemic conditions exist that endanger the public or transit workforce on the Atlanta system.
“Our hearts continue to go out to the family that senselessly lost a grandmother, a mother and a friend,” Lt. Governor Burt Jones said in a statement. “We’re grateful for our federal partners in the Trump Administration for taking these heinous crimes seriously and for partnering with us in our ongoing efforts to keep Georgians safe.”
Jones is running for governor and faces a June 14 runoff against Republican Rick Jackson.
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