The Biden administration is calling on transit agencies to better protect workers following what it's calling an "unacceptable level" assaults on transit workers.
The Federal Transit Administration announced the proposed General Directive Wednesday with an opportunity for the public to comment on the new guidance.
“Everyone deserves a safe workplace, including and especially the frontline transit workers who keep our nation moving,” said Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg in a written statement. “Assaults on transit workers are unacceptable, and I look forward to working with leaders across the transit industry on ways to further enhance the safety of these essential workers.”
The directive would require agencies, like Dallas Area Rapid Transit, to assess safety risks and strategies to prevent incidents.
Last month, a bus driver was shot and his vehicle was stolen near Fair Park as DART workers have been alerting the agency's board to safety concerns in recent months.
“We worry about showing up at work at two, three o'clock in the morning, getting out of our cars going into the workplace, someone coming up to you putting a gun to your head, taking your vehicle," DeBoss Christian, leader for the local Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1338, said at a September board meeting.
The union has been in talks with DART over pay raises and safety conditions.
The FTA says transit agencies in larger cities, like DART, are required to form a joint safety committee between management and labor representatives.
The public comment period for the new proposed guidance is open through Feb. 20.
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