TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Going somewhere on Sun Tran is sometimes more than a simple trip from A to B. In some cases, people have ended up in the hospital or the grave.
Sun Tran gives thousands of passengers a safe trip everyday.
But there are exceptions. In April Jacob Couch and his wife were at a transit stop when a man used a hatchet to hit Couch in the neck. He died after about two weeks on life support.
Now the man with the hatchet is facing a murder charge.
In May there was another hatchet attack at an eastside bus stop near Udall Park. The two victims lived. A man is facing two counts of aggravated assault.
In a new attack, a surveillance camera caught a woman as she attacked a man with a large knife. At first, the woman told police the man threatened to kill her family. The victim says he doesn’t even know the woman.
The attack happened as the bus was at Laos Transit Center on Irvington.
Mario Maravilla says he’s seen plenty there. He says people have pointed guns at him, and tried to steal his bag.
You do see security guards and police at the transit centers, but he’d like to see more.
“Like, more security or security that has weapons, because people smoke a lot of fentanyl or blues in front of kids, and that thing reeks like blues. And I'm military, so I kick them out. You know, my brother, he's a security guard here, I kick them out, make sure, you know, get them out in the restroom and everything.”
Jesus Coronado says the world is just crazy and terrible but if you need to take the bus, you take the bus.
KGUN Reporter Craig Smith asked: “Are there things you do to try to keep yourself safer?”
Coronado: “Not really. I don't carry nothing, just me. You know, I really don't carry nothing. I don't know why people carry stuff with them. You know, they shouldn't carry nothing.”
Bus drivers have complained that violence has increased since the City of Tucson went to a policy of no fares to ride on Sun Tran.
In response to KGUN’s safety inquiry, Sun Tran released this statement:
“At Sun Tran, safety and security are not just priorities, they are the foundation of everything we do. We serve more than 50,000 riders daily and travel over 7.4 million miles each year. Incidents across our system, whether at bus stops, transit centers, or on board remain extremely rare, occurring in less than 1% of all service interactions. Thanks to proactive measures, including ongoing de-escalation training and the presence of on-site security teams, those numbers continue to decline year after year.
We are deeply aware that recent events have raised concerns and challenged public trust. We take these matters seriously. Transparency and accountability are essential as we work to rebuild and strengthen that trust.
It’s important to recognize that Sun Tran has maintained a safe and reliable transit system for over 50 years. Our mission remains unchanged: to improve quality of life by providing safe, secure, efficient, and customer-focused public transportation.
We will continue to do everything in our power to protect the safety and well-being of our passengers, our operators, and the communities we serve.”
- Mikel Oglesby General Manager Sun Tran, Sun Link and Sun Van
——-
Craig Smith is a reporter for KGUN 9. With more than 40 years of reporting in cities like Tampa, Houston and Austin, Craig has covered more than 40 Space Shuttle launches and covered historic hurricanes like Katrina, Ivan, Andrew and Hugo. Share your story ideas and important issues with Craig by emailing craig.smith@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook and Twitter.
