[fwip]

Seattle is fine. I've lived here and commuted via bus almost exclusively for 10 years now. The bus stop I catch is right at 3rd and Pine, with is the "scary drug dealing" corner that tourists are warned to stay away from.[0] I've never had a problem with homeless people either on the bus, at the stop, or while commuting. Over literally thousands of trips, I can probably count on one hand the number of fistfights I've seen - I saw more fights outside a bar in Pittsburgh in 2 years.

Some people are just scared of homeless people, poor people, or non-white people (or a mixture of the three). For those people, the issue isn't the actual safety, but their own discomfort or anxiety.

I'd bet that the injury rates on commuting even the scary bus routes here are comparable to or below the injury rate from driving.

[0]: https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/law-justice/weve-b... - the notoriously conservative Seattle Times.

[johngossman]

Agree. Riding the bus down 3rd, even at night, is depressing, but I’ve never felt unsafe.