Robberies are soaring in the city’s transit system, NYPD data show.
There were 128 muggings on trains and buses as of April 5, a 21% surge over the 106 from the same period last year and experts fear it will get worse.
Felony assaults ticked down 6% in the same priod, from 171 to 160, but that sum does not include the three horrific attacks on innocent straphangers Saturday by an unhinged, machete-wielding maniac. Assaults are up 60% when compared to pre-Covid 2019.
Murder in transit also eked up, to three so far this year from none at the same time in 2025.
Misdemeanor assaults spiked by 12% – from 395 to 441 – and petty larceny saw a 4% bump, from 46 to 57.
Samanteer Beckford, of the Bronx, said whatever is being done to protect straphangers, isn’t enough.
“The homeless are an issue,” the 32-year-old said. “More needs to be done.”
Under former Mayor Eric Adams, the NYPD deployed 200 additional officers for train patrols in January 2025 to combat crime and improve the perception of safety. The cops specifically targeted overnight shifts with two officers per train.
Crime went down under that initiative, but overtime cuts in February under Mayor Mamdani’s new administration reduced those patrols.
“It’s concerning because summer is coming,” said former NYPD Detective Michael Alcazar, an adjunct professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice.
“I think that just shows that the police department is really short on uniformed officers,” he said.
“I’m sure the bad guys are realizing that too,” he said. “They can almost predict where police are going to be and they’re timing it.”
Last week, Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch boasted of an impressive overall 5.3% drop in citywide crime and a more modest 1.3% drop in subway crime as of March 29.
“It’s really bad because people are pretty much forced to take the subway because of congestion pricing,” a longtime Bronx police officer said. “Now they’re forced to walk around with their heads on a swivel.”
Robberies in the subway are often driven by kids, the NYPD said, adding that 34% of the incidents so far this year were committed by juveniles and 63% have led to arrests.
The robbery increase was 54% in January and February, compared to the same period in 2025, coinciding with record cold temperatures and snow that pushed more people onto the city’s crammed trains. The incidents trended downward in March, an NYPD spokesman said.
Riders are on edge after recent crimes, including one in which three friends on a Bronx subway car were beaten, kicked and cut with a knife while a gang of eight strangers stole their electronics.
“The safety on the trains is not good right now,” said Ronald Stokes, 55, an assistant superintendent for NYCHA who lives in Harlem and wants more cops.
“They need to ride the trains … to stand outside the station is one thing but to ride the trains would be a big help.”
Claude Butler, a dispatcher for Charter Communications who also lives in Harlem, said he feels like he always has to be on the defensive in the subway “because you never know what can happen.”
“Just this morning I had to come with my wife because I don’t feel it’s safe for her to ride alone,” the 62-year-old said. “A lot of times, when I’m not with her, guys approach her. Sometimes they brush up against her.”
He also pointed out that the officers in the system are mainly on the platforms.
“When [the police] are here, I just see them in the stations,” he said. “I don’t see them on the trains… they should ride the trains.”
Mayor Mamdani campaigned in part on cutting the NYPD’s budget, including shuttering the NYPD’s Strategic Response Group, which handles protests and counter-terrorism above and below ground.
The NYPD Strategic Response Group (SRG)is a specialized unit focused on counterterrorism, large-scale protests, and critical incidents rather than routine transit policing. While the SRG has been deployed to NYC subway stations, it is typically used for high-profile incidents or special operations, not regular daily patrols.
The city needs to flood the subway with cops for the summer, Alcazar said.
“I think robberies are going to increase because there’s going to be more riders and there’s going to be more bad guys, especially in the subway,” Alcazar said. “We need to have an omnipresence.”
