Bus Drivers Attacked Across CA: Stiffer Penalties Aim To Curb The Violence

Just before 9 p.m. on Aug. 7, 2024, MTS bus driver Stephen Jenkins, 29, was parked at the Escondido Transit Center in San Diego County. His last passengers were preparing to get off his bus.

That's when a man boarded and wanted a free ride.

Jenkins offered the rider a discount, but the man allegedly demanded the driver's wallet instead.

Jenkins never saw the man pull out an 8-inch-long screwdriver.

“He stabbed me in the back two times and then five times in the chest … I thought I was going to die," Jenkins told abc10 News in San Diego.

Jenkins says he was stabbed a total of nine times before the man ran off the bus.

It's not an isolated incident. This August, a bus driver in San Jose was slashed with a large kitchen knife by a passenger.

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Witnesses say the suspect was repeatedly pulling the stop request cord. When the VTA bus operator confronted him, the suspect allegedly became aggressive and pulled out the knife. The driver suffered three slash wounds.

It's not just drivers. This October, a passenger riding a Los Angeles Metro bus was stabbed in the neck near the South Gate neighborhood. An LA County sheriff’s watch commander told FOX 11 it appeared to be an "unprovoked, random attack" by a stranger.

Transit operators across California have increasingly reported incidents of harassment and violence, and now a new law is on the books in the Golden State. Assembly Bill 394, signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom last month, expands existing laws to provide stronger protections for transit employees and riders, and aims to ensure safer, more secure public transportation across the state.

The measure strengthens penalties for those who assault or harass transit employees. The law also equips transit agencies with tools to improve safety across public transportation systems.

Authored by Assemblywoman Lori D. Wilson (D-11), AB 394 was co-sponsored by the California Transit Association, Amalgamated Transit Union, Teamsters, and SMART-TD labor union.

Several transit agencies advocated for the legislation, including the Riverside Transit Agency, which said AB 394 "represents a major step forward in protecting and honoring the people who keep California moving."

Matt Robinson, legislative advocate for the California Transit Association, said, "AB 394 will enhance the penalties when individuals harm our workers and our riders and will give our agencies more tools they can use to keep our systems safe."

SMART-TD said the new law has teeth. Assaulting or battering a transit worker now carries enhanced penalties, closing gaps that previously left many employees underprotected.

Additionally, transit agencies, unions, or workers themselves can now seek restraining orders and injunctions that apply across an entire transit system, not just a single bus or station. Courts can now ban repeat offenders from using an entire transit system if they are convicted of assaulting a worker.

"For too long, transit workers have been asked to do their jobs under the shadow of rising threats and violence, ...," according to SMART-TD. "With AB 394, California is making it clear: enough is enough. From verbal threats to assault with a deadly weapon, this needs to end. Our members deserve the same dignity, safety, and respect as any other profession. This law and the work that went into passing it put California on this path."