Objectives

We use the temporary closings of subway stations in Philadelphia to examine the effects of public transit on crime in the nearby communities.

Methods

The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA), a regional public transportation authority in Philadelphia, has experienced two labor strikes occurring in 2009 and 2016. During these two strikes, public transit was disrupted for nearly 1 week. We used the closings of 47 subway stations during strikes to evaluate the place-based effect of public transit on crime. We also examined whether these effects varied with the ridership level in each station.

Results

Total crime decreased by 38% within 100 m of the stations when subway stations were closed due to the strike and by 10% within 500 m. The primary drivers of the decrease were violent crimes, including assault and robbery. However, there is no obvious relationship between the closings of stations and the change in property crimes and mischief. In addition, crimes in stations with higher ridership declined less than those in stations with medium ridership when strikes occurred.

Conclusions

Public transit in Philadelphia appears to be associated with elevated violent crime in the surrounding community. Areas around subway stations may require greater security to control crime during its operational hours. Passengers may serve as guardians to deter some crimes when the public transit is operational.

中文翻译：

---

公共交通对犯罪的影响：费城SEPTA罢工的证据

目标

我们使用费城地铁站的临时关闭来研究公共交通对附近社区犯罪的影响。

方法

费城地区公共交通管理局东南宾夕法尼亚州交通管理局（SEPTA）在2009年和2016年发生了两次劳工罢工。在这两次罢工中，公共交通中断了将近1周。我们在罢工期间使用了47个地铁站的关闭来评估公共交通对犯罪的基于地点的影响。我们还研究了这些影响是否随每个车站的乘车水平而变化。

结果

当地铁站因罢工而关闭时，犯罪总发生率在距离地铁站100 m以内下降38％，在500 m以内下降10％。减少的主要原因是暴力犯罪，包括殴打和抢劫。但是，车站的关闭与财产犯罪和恶作剧的变化之间没有明显的关系。此外，发生罢工时，载客量较高的车站的犯罪率下降率低于载客量中等的车站。

结论

费城的公共交通似乎与周围社区暴力犯罪加剧有关。地铁车站周围地区可能需要更高的安全性才能在其运营时间内控制犯罪。在公共交通运营时，乘客可以充当监护人，以制止某些犯罪。