SEPTA preparing for start of new school year as safety remains top priority
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – Parents and students are not the only ones preparing to go back to school. SEPTA is getting ready to welcome students back to the system, and safety is top of mind.
SEPTA police are expanding their safety measures ahead of the new school year as nearly 55,000 students are getting ready for their commute to class.
SEPTA buses and trains are set to see a flood of backpacks onboard for the first day for students Monday with the School District of Philadelphia.
"We take the first bus and then end up near and take the train and then that's how we're here," Kemarri Smith, a 9-year-old SEPTA bus rider, said.
Students in grades seven through 12 who live 1.5 miles or farther from school are eligible for a free student fare card.
Crowds of rowdy students on SEPTA have led to crime in the past.
In November 2021, a group of Asian students was attacked on a SEPTA train leading to heightened security at stops.
"We understand that there's a lot of concern given the nature of and the amount of violence going on in the city," Charles Lawson, acting transit police chief, said. "We have a lot of folks here working hard to make sure that tug of violence doesn't come into the system."
It's incidents like these that make some mothers worried to let their kids take the bus.
"If it did come down to taking the bus, I wouldn't let her take the bus, just because it's too much going on and getting dangerous, the fighting and the shooting," Ynaria Vicks, a mother of two, said.
SEPTA says they take these concerns seriously.
"For the first time this school year we're going to fold in our outreach specialists into our plan so, in addition to all the other changes we made to increase resources, we're going to have an additional 40 personnel available during school dismissal," Lawson said. "You're going to see a lot of cops out there on the system. Get to know them. You'll see the same cops all over the system. We're encouraging our cops to do the same, managing this relationship."
SEPTA police say they'll continue to offer escorts for students feeling unsafe.
"We'll have cops at key locations where a lot of students move through the system, and we'll provide an officer escort that group for their final destination," Lawson said.
SEPTA's acting chief also reminds students to be extra aware of their personal surroundings when riding.
If you're riding on a bus or train and notice a fight breaking out, SEPTA's transit watch app allows riders to file complaints and call for help.