SEPTA Reports Drop In Serious Crime Across System

PHILADELPHIA — Serious crime is down on SEPTA, the transit authority said.

SEPTA Wednesday reported a 10 percent reduction in serious crimes compared to the same period last year.

According to SEPTA, this comes after Transit Police marked the largest one-year drop in serious crimes in its 43-year history.

New quarterly data released showed reductions in seven of the eight serious crime categories, including aggravated assaults and thefts.

Below are detailed statistics on serious crime on SEPTA:

"We are hearing directly from our riders that they feel safer at our stations and on board our vehicles," SEPTA General Manager Scott A. Sauer said. "Our Customer Satisfaction Survey scores for safety and security have increased to their highest levels since 2023."

Transit Police are prioritizing fare evasion by issuing more than 6,300 citations so far this year, which represents a 47 percent increase compared to last year, according to SEPTA. This effort has helped identify other illegal activity, resulting in over 700 arrests of wanted individuals, the authority said.

"We are working to change the culture around paying a fare," SEPTA Transit Police Chief Charles Lawson said. "It is a challenge faced by transit systems across the country, and SEPTA is no exception, but we are taking real steps to address it."

Transit Police are focusing enforcement on known fare evasion "hot spots." For example, a four-week blitz at Huntingdon Station on the Market-Frankford Line [L] nearly eliminated fare evasion while officers were on site.

To stop fare evasion before it starts, SEPTA is upgrading its infrastructure. New full-height fare gates, tested successfully at 69th Street Transit Center, are being installed at nine additional Metro stations. SEPTA also launched a Surface Transportation Unit dedicated to enforcing fare compliance on buses and trolleys, where entry is not controlled by fare gates.

See the full report from SEPTA online here.