A problem flight crews have been seeing in the skies — unruly airline passengers assaulting staff who ask them to follow rules — happens on buses and trains, too. And legislators want those who hurt transportation workers on the ground to face harsher penalties.
In New Jersey, people convicted of assaulting transit crew members on the job could be kicked off the bus or train for a year and face stiffer fines and more jail time under a new bill that is heading for a state Assembly vote.
The legislation is in response to increased violence reported against NJ Transit train crews and bus drivers unanimously passed the transportation and independent authorities committee Thursday.
The bill (A-6013) makes the assaults on a public or private transit employee “targeted because of their job,” a third degree aggravated assault crime with higher penalties of 3 to 5 years in prison and up to a $15,000 fine.
Now, it is a fourth degree crime with lesser penalties of 18 months in prison and up to a $10,000 fine.
If passed and signed into law by Gov. Phil Murphy, NJ Transit and other bus and rail agencies and companies could ban riders for up to one year if they commit an assault against an employee. If a deadly weapon was used in the assault, that rider could be banned for life. The bill also requires transit operators to install communication systems for immediate incident reporting
The bipartisan bills were co-sponsored by Assembly members Daniel Benson and Yvonne Lopez, both D-Middlesex, and Assemblymen Hal Wirths and Parker Space, both R- Sussex. In November, the state Senate transportation committee passed a similar bill.
“We need to do a better job of protecting our front-line mass transit workers while sending a strong message to passengers that assaults will be punished to the fullest extent of the law,” Wirths said. “Upgrading fines and implementing additional safety measures will go a long way toward ensuring a smoother ride for employees and law-abiding passengers alike.”
The bill seeks to do what FAA rules have done by heavily fining unruly passengers who assault flight crews and delay airliners. Those rules haven’t gone as far as putting offenders on a no-fly list, a sanction the Association of Flight Attendants has lobbied for.
“Transportation workers are far too often subjected to vicious attacks by irate passengers for simply doing their jobs,” Benson said in a statement. “Our bus and rail employees must be protected as they fulfill their critical duties on behalf of the hundreds of thousands of commuters in our state.”
Incidents have escalated of passengers assaulting transit crews trying to enforce federal COVID-19 regulations requiring masks to be worn inside vehicle and indoor terminals and stations. In August, NJ Transit police stepped up high visibility patrols on problem bus routes and trains.
But incidents continued, including one in October where a passenger on an NJ Transit train threatened a conductor with a knife after the conductor asked him to put on a mask. The passenger, Keith Toussaint, 49, of Bronx, New York, was arrested and charged by Glen Rock police with aggravated assault against a transportation worker, making terroristic threats, weapons possession and disorderly conduct, according to police and court records.
“The safety and security of both transit workers and the riding public is crucial. This bill sets a foundation with training, the sharing of information, a functional radio for communication, and it also allows transportation companies and NJT to address this issue in a new light,” said Ron Sobol, SMART Transportation Division state legislative director. The Union represents train conductors.
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Larry Higgs may be reached at [email protected]