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TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) – Tucson City Council approved a transit safety plan Tuesday that allocates more than $1.8 million for security improvements, but council members remain divided on whether the measures will address safety concerns.
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The transit safety plan includes more than $421,000 for bus stop cleanup, over $232,000 for upgraded cameras, over $180,000 for contracted private security guards, and more than $700,000 for additional off-duty police officer deployment.
Three to four off-duty police officers currently surveil bus stops and routes, said Tucson Police Officers President Darryl Hussman.
But he said the infrastructure is there to add more.
“It’s just a matter of is it something that the officers are getting compensated appropriately for? Do they see the vision?” Hussman said. “As long as there’s an investment there from the people that need it, off-duty is something that will always be able to be fulfilled.”
However, Ward 2 Councilmember Paul Cunningham said the funding may not be sufficient.
“That cost means we’d have one off-duty officer on one bus, and that’s really not gonna do a lot, a whole lot,” Cunningham said.
The plan also includes $360,000 for a transit ambassador program intended to provide a non-law-enforcement presence at stops to help riders. During Tuesday’s city council meeting, roles for these ambassadors ranged from contacting law enforcement to providing resources to riders. But there are still questions about what defined roles these ambassadors will have moving forward, according to Cunningham.
“We don’t have a definition of what the ambassadors are gonna do. We don’t really have an idea of how we’re properly going to affect driver (safety) except to throw more money at it,” he said.
Cunningham was one of two council members, including Nikki Lee, who voted against the new safety plan. Cunningham told 13 News that part of his reasoning boils down to the need for a fare system. The debate resurfaced during Tuesday’s meeting.
Councilmember Lane Santa Cruz, who opposes reinstating fares and voted to approve the current transit safety plan, provided the following statement to 13 News:
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“Ultimately, if our goal is safer transit, the question is not whether we charge a fare .“The question is whether we are implementing the specific safety measures identified by operators, riders, law enforcement, outreach teams, and transportation professionals. That is where I believe our focus should remain.
“Charging fares does not prevent transit crime. Cities with fare systems are still dealing with assaults, drug use, trespassing, disorder, and rider fear. What matters is whether the agency has a real safety strategy: targeted deployment, operator protections, lighting, cameras, outreach, enforcement, and data-driven hotspot response.
“That lines up with Tucson’s TSSAP, which identifies the actual interventions needed: coordinated TPD/security deployment, hotspot mapping, CPTED improvements, ambassadors/outreach teams, operator protections, training, and real-time rider feedback—not fare collection as the core safety solution.”
Despite this, Cunningham said he does not believe the new transit safety plan will be successful without a fare system.
“The transit safety plan we have, I don’t know if it’s gonna be effective, and I don’t really wanna take ownership of that,” he said.
The plan is for most expenses in this new transit plan to be covered by RTA Next, with plans for additional safety measures, including driver barriers and panic buttons on buses. The city can spend just over $2 million per year for the next 20 years in accordance with the statutes of the RTA Next plan. However, officials said they will need to verify which expenses will be covered by the RTA safety plan as measures are rolled out this year.
VIOLENT INCIDENTS CONNECTED TO SUN TRAN
As 13 News has reported before, there have been at least 19 violent incidents connected to Sun Tran since April 2025. One man died, and several victims have been left with life-altering injuries. In most of the cases, a bladed weapon was used by the suspect.
- On April 5, 2025, 25-year-old Daniel Michael Jr. attacked a man and a woman with a hatchet at a Sun Link streetcar stop in downtown Tucson. Jacob Couch died from his injuries, and Michael was charged with murder.
- On May 12, 2025, 42-year-old Frank Rick Lopez allegedly attacked two people with a hatchet at a Sun Tran bus stop near Sabino Canyon and Tanque Verde Roads.
- On July 9, 2025, a 15-year-old was arrested after a 19-year-old woman was injured during a knife fight on a bus at the Ronstadt Center in Tucson.
- On July 25, 2025, a man was injured when a woman attacked him with a knife at the Laos Transit Center.
- On Aug. 11, 2025, a man was injured in a stabbing at the Ronstadt Center in downtown Tucson.
- On Aug. 12, 2025,a man was injured in a fight and stabbing at the Laos Transit Center in Tucson.
- On Aug. 19, 2025, a man was injured in a fight and stabbing at the Tohono Tadai Transit Center near the Tucson Mall.
- On Sept. 9, 2025, Sun Tran driver Jose Rodriguez was injured in an assault at Udall Park in Tucson.
- On Oct. 6, 2025, an elderly man was injured in an assault at a Sun Tran bus stop near Pantano and Stella in Tucson.
- On Oct. 14, 2025, a man was arrested after allegedly firing a gun on a Sun Tran bus near Irvington and 13th Avenue in Tucson.
- On Nov. 30, 2025, a man was arrested on an attempted murder charge following a violent attack at the Laos Transit Center in Tucson.
- On Dec. 24, 2025, a man was arrested after being accused of stabbing someone on a Sun Tran bus at least 12 times.
- On Jan. 26, 2026, a man was injured in an assault at a bus stop at Broadway and Kolb in Tucson.
- On Feb. 10, 2026, a man was stabbed during an aggravated assault at the Ronstadt Transit Center.
- On Feb. 24, 2026, authorities responded to a fight at the Sun Tran bus stop at South 6th Avenue and West 44th Street.
- On Feb. 27, 2026, an armed man was arrested after a fight on a Sun Tran bus near Main and Speedway in Tucson.
- On March 4, 2026, a man was arrested after stabbing another man at the Tohono Tadai Transit Center near the Tucson Mall.
- On April 3, 2026, a person was injured in a stabbing at the Ronstadt Center in downtown Tucson.
- On June 4, 2026, one man was arrested, and another was injured in a fight on a Sun Tran bus in downtown Tucson.
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