Hundreds of safety incidents occur every year in and around public buses in our area.
Recently, WRAL News has covered a man accused of swinging a rusty machete at the downtown Raleigh bus station, and a stabbing there a few weeks later.
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WRAL Investigates wanted to know how many crimes occur on buses and at downtown bus stations and what's being done to address that, so we filed records requests for that information with the city of Raleigh and the city of Durham.
In Durham, the data shows 196 "criminal incidents" on board its buses from Jan. 1 through Oct. 31, 2025. The incidents included passengers assaulting bus drivers, passengers fighting amongst each other, passengers refusing to leave the bus and an intoxicated passenger with a "large knife."
WRAL Investigates asked the city of Durham's Transportation Director Sean Egan about the numbers.
"We have about two issues per every 100,000 people who ride the system," he said. "There certainly are issues, but that’s our incident report."
WRAL News has covered concerns about safety aboard Durham buses for years, including interviews with drivers who have taken their concerns to the city council on multiple occasions.
"We are being threatened and attacked," GoDurham driver Khalit Harley told WRAL in 2024. "We’re transporting crime throughout the city.”
Egan says every bus driver has a partition, and every bus has cameras.
"I ride the bus regularly with my family," Egan said. "I have two six-year-old children. My wife rides regularly with us and with the kids."
WRAL Investigates asked the City of Raleigh for the number of on-board incidents, and was told the city does not track the information in that way.
A Raleigh spokesperson did provide data about the number of incidents at the downtown Raleigh bus terminal on South Blount Street, showing 112 violent crimes occurred there in 2025, with the majority (96) being classified as assaults.
The city of Durham tracked 62 incidents at its downtown bus station last year.
A Raleigh spokesperson told WRAL News: "The city has made significant effort and investments in transit safety, beginning with a security contract for the GoRaleigh Station. It includes RPD’s TRACE (Transit Recon and Community Engagement) teams, located in a a micro sub-station at the GoRaleigh station. Finally, RPD, the Downtown Raleigh Alliance, and private security companies have bi-monthly meetings about downtown security."
In Durham, officials say they launched a new "Code of Conduct" campaign last year, aimed at ensuring a respectful environment aboard buses. They also say that, in summer of 2025, they hired more off-duty police officers to patrol the downtown bus station, which resulted in an 87% reduction in incidents.
Sierra Hurdle frequently rides public buses in Durham, saying they are her family's primary mode of transportation. She said she feels safe on board.
"I feel like the drivers try to do their best to make sure we’re all safe," she said. "I have seen unruly folks, but they try to put a stop to it as quickly as possible."