Metro sees 25-year-low in crime on bus and rail systems

Metro said that last year marked a 25-year-low in crime on its rail and bus lines throughout the D.C. region.

Metro Transit Police Chief Michael Anzallo said major crimes, which range from assaults and robberies to thefts, dropped by 35% in 2025. That included a 40% decline in crime in parking lots, a 37% drop on Metrobus and a 34% reduction on Metrorail.

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority noted that the statistics do not account for 2020 and 2021, when ridership was at historic lows due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“If you commit crime on Metro, you’re going to be seen, you’re going to get caught, and hopefully, you’re going to get prosecuted,” Metro CEO Randy Clarke said. “We’re a community transit system, and we’re there to serve our community and get people around safely, and that’s what we’re going to continue to work on.”

Chief Anzallo credited part of the crime-fighting success to a new policy that allows authorities to ban violent passengers from the transit system.

More than 430 people have been banned from the Metro’s buses and trains since the policy took effect last summer. Most of those who were banned (79%) were linked to assaults at a Metro station or bus stop, while a smaller percentage (13%) were accused of sex crimes.

The transit police chief added that 32 people were arrested last year for violating the ban.

Mr. Clarke also pointed to a new D.C. law that allows the transit system to check IDs linked to a person’s fare to see if they have any active warrants. He said nearly 1,000 people were detained by authorities last year because of the ID checks.

Chief Anzallo said increased patrols from special police officers and the National Guard have helped bring down crime, particularly on the buses.

“We were getting more and more complaints about how to control behavior on certain lines,” the chief said. “We were able to focus more on the bus this year with our enforcement team on specific routes where we’ve had crime and complaints and fare enforcement warrant checks and just trying to create an atmosphere where people felt safe riding the bus.”

Metro’s continuing crackdown on fare evaders targeted those who were skipping out on paying for the bus.

The transit agency said it issued more than 8,600 tickets last year to people who tried to get a free ride on the Metrobus, which is up from roughly 3,000 in 2024. There was only a nominal increase in fare evasion tickets for those who hopped turnstiles on Metrorail.