MBTA Chief Safety Officer, Ron Ester, left at the end of August after years of work with federal agencies regarding MBTA safety. This lack of leadership during a time when numerous incidents of violence have been reported on the MBTA concerns many riders. This past July, Transit Police at Andrew Station arrested two men on a charge of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. In May, 2 teens were charged for unprovoked attacks on a woman in South Boston on the MBTA, and last January, a “marauding group” beat and robbed several passengers on the MBTA Green Line. With a marked 3% increase in Boston arrests since 2021 cited by Massachusetts Crime Statistics, many have called for increased use of technology in order to help ensure the safety of passengers on the MBTA. 

The MBTA (Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority), is a robust public transportation system including heavy rail, light rail, buses, and commuter rail options. The system has served as a reliable form of transportation for many living in the city and beyond, providing hundreds of millions of rides to Bostonians each year. Ridership understandably dropped during the COVID-19 pandemic, but it has been clear that in the post-pandemic world, MBTA ridership has for the most part recovered. According to the Statista Research Department, 214.5 million rides were completed in 2022 through the MBTA, with most of these rides being on the MBTA’s bus and heavy rail system.

One major concern that many people have when riding on the MBTA is the possibility of violent crimes and robberies. According to the Superintendent of the Transit Police Department, Richard Sullivan, during 2011-2016, the average number of violent crimes (including homicides, rapes, aggravated assaults, larcenies) on the MBTA per year was 998 incidents. While violent crimes are a big problem, he reports that every weekday, more than 1 million trips occur throughout the entire system and that the safety of all its passengers is a major commitment of the MBTA. 

One of MBTA’s constant reminders to all its riders to follow the guidelines of its safety program, “See Something, Say Something” which encourages passengers to report violence, suspicious activity, or safety threats immediately. Also, more than 10 years ago, the MBTA released its See Say app, which is a platform meant to provide easy access to anonymously report suspicious activity while on MBTA rides. The app was developed by Elerts Corporation, which has partnered with several transit agencies for cities across the country to develop safety technology according to a report by NBC Boston, Ed English. 

In a 2021 poll conducted by Boston.com, 29% of respondents reported feeling “somewhat at risk” with 57% of these respondents identifying as women. Several respondents noted feeling that a lack of camera monitoring and security presence within stations make them feel particularly at risk, with female respondents seeming more apprehensive about safety in nighttime hours. As a result of this continued sense of unease that many passengers have regarding safety on the MBTA, the MBTA has listed several personal safety tips on its website, including instructions for contacting Transit Police and MBTA staff in the event of an unsafe situation.

While this reporter has not found statistics on whether the app itself has had an impact on the number of crimes on MBTA rides, it is clear that in the years following the app’s release, violent crime on the MBTA has decreased. According to the Associated Press, violent crime on the MBTA had decreased on average by 200 incidents each year during 2016-2019 when compared to 2011-2016. 

The MBTA See Say app is readily available on the App Store and Google Play, where it can be downloaded for free onto a mobile device. Upon downloading the app, users will be directed to input basic information, including name, email, and phone number in order to access the app. The main screen of the app includes two primary options, which are to either report suspicious activity or to directly contact the police. Reports can be made anonymously and can include a photo to help supplement the report. MBTA confirmed that the phone’s flash capability is automatically disabled when taking a photo to support a safety report being made through the app so that people may discreetly report suspicious incidents.

Superintendent Richard Sullivan told this reporter that the app “…has been available for twelve years and is one of many tools riders have to protect themselves and others. It’s made a positive difference for the public and Transit Police on a regular basis. Mentioning its availability and helping people use it has always been important information for us to share when we speak at public forums. Our job is to get the word out by any means possible.”

While a seemingly simple app, many people have expressed concern regarding the safety of their data while using the app itself. One of the concerns is with regards to the app’s ability to track the location of the user as well as gather other private information and data off of the mobile devices of users. According to an interview with NBC Boston, David Choffnes, a professor at Northeastern University, expressed concern that the MBTA See Say app is capable of tracking locations while the user is not using the app’s reporting features and is sending that information back to the app’s developers. To that end, Elerts Corporation denies that they are intentionally collecting data to track people or gather personal information for profit or otherwise. It is also important to note that upon downloading the app, the user is prompted for an option to share their location with the app, which the user can deny.

Another potential concern with the app is the lack of usage and knowledge about the app. While millions of people use the MBTA to travel to work, school, or for leisure, a simple look on the App Store’s profile of the MBTA See Say app shows that the app itself has only a few hundred reviews. The lack of usage for the app makes it unlikely that it will continue to have a large impact on public safety. Especially with the presence of other third-party apps tracking the timing of bus and train arrivals, which tend to be much more popular, the MBTA See Say app is unlikely to make an impact without exposure to the general public. One daily rider, who had never heard about the app, suggested to this writer that the MBTA solution should integrate the MBTA See Say app’s features with another MBTA-endorsed transportation app that track arrival times, as opposed to making this safety feature a separate application that will see little use in comparison. He liked the idea of the Say See app but he said, “The MBTA really needs to tell people. No one knows about this!”