Er, no Marshals on the LRT?  Maybe Transit Marshals might be a better term.

But I do agree with the concept!

Mary Sit, How about a blog topic on the recent flier handed out on the P&R lots that announced the mid-day route for the Park & Ride lots?  The service lists routes for the Katy freeway, and others I can't remember but left off the SW Fwy 265 and 262 lots.  I know the Local 8 route runs from DT to the 265 lot but it takes forever to get there.  How about a P&R 269 that runs once an hour during the day and stops at both the 252 and 265?  Some people work a 1/2 day on Friday and must wait on the 265 bus that starts running at 3:15pm.

The undercover marshals on the train would be a great idea.  A friend at work rides LRT daily and tells me that when the enforcement squad of uniformed officers passes thru the train cars, they do not have a portable reader like they were supposed to and only ask to see if the patron has a Q-Card or a valid fare item.  He estimates that only about 30% of the riders tap their Q-Cards as they pass the Q-Box.  A couple of very public busts and $200 tickets would encourage the free loaders to pay up.  The occasional violator due to ignorance does not bother me much.  The habitual violators that skirt the system do bother me, plus the smelly homeless people really turn people away from the train.  How about plain clothes Marshals on the rail platforms checking Q-Cards?

A plainclothes officer on  a bus seems a bit ridiculous to me. If they're going to do any good they should be in uniform or better yet give  them a conductor's uniform and let them work the train. It's gotten to where during rush hour you just about have to elbow your way on and off. They could also check tickets.

If the marshalls are indeed "plain clothed" and, if Metro is claiming that this action is the reason that crime has dropped 33%, can Mary provide us with actual incident numbers?

If the police are plain clothed, the gangs or whatever, will not change their habits so, in theory the 'attempts' at crime onboard should not have lowered.  What should bave happened is that these officers should have apprehended those people?

Watch the METRO Matters clip. It addresses a lot of the concerns/questions people are raising here.

So I went to 1900

Im looking at this TV on the wall in the Ride Store.

Whats playing?

Well METRO was showing various clips of drivers on cell phones while driving.

Looks like those cameras are doing more then catching purse-snatchers and eye-slashers...

Yeah, the camera buses are there to spy on drivers.  If they happen to ctach a crime or two, well that's good too.

You know Frank wasn't going to give them a $2 raise without a few strings.  

don said:  "A plainclothes officer on  a bus seems a bit ridiculous to me. If they're going to do any good they should be in uniform..."

Huh?  So ummm---how can an officer of any law enforcement agency catch any type of crime happening in the act when they're in full uniform?  Answer:  You CAN'T---unless the person or persons just doesn't care about the outcome of what they're doing and proceeds to commit their crimes anyway.

The name of the division is bus marshals but they DO ride the train also. Houston is not the only transit agency with plain clothes officers. This is an effective program that keeps the criminals guessing if there is a cop on the bus. Keep up the good work!