Recent violence, including a stabbing and shots being fired at a bus, has intensified public safety concerns for GoRaleigh.

The City of Raleigh is working on a plan towards making the buses and the bus station safer.

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Het Patel, City of Raleigh Transit Assistant Director, presented a proposal to city council on Tuesday aiming to decrease the ongoing issues on the GoRaleigh Buses and at the GoRaleigh station.

Patel told Raleigh City Council, "Public safety is a top priority, and we are making decisions guided by data partnering with the Raleigh Police department to really make sure that our transportation is safe and reliable for our users."

He explained, "We are working with the Raleigh police department to really add some visibility within the system for officers riding on the buses (and) patrol vehicles following buses.  Making more systematic visible choices so that people can see that they are safe and secure."

WRAL has reported on three separate incidents in March 2026 on GoRaleigh buses. 

On March 27, a shot was fired on a GoRaleigh bus on St. Giles Street and Raleigh police are searching for four people connected to that incident. 

On March 24, someone was stabbed on a GoRaleigh bus near the Five Points neighborhood after people on the bus got into an argument. One person was arrested in that incident. 

On March 17, a GoRaleigh bus was shot at while going down Garner Road. No one was injured in that incident, and no arrests have been made.

And in January, a man was charged with swinging a machete and making threats in the GoRaleigh bus station. 

In March of 2026, the Raleigh Transit Authority endorsed an updated code of conduct policy.

Patel told council, " we are working on an additional marketing campaign and increase signage, really about what are the behaviors that we expect of our riders when they are on the system, things that can make it more clear, what the expectations are so that bus operators, as well as Raleigh police are going in and out doing their system checks  can actually enforce certain things if they are not behaving to the code of conduct policy."

In May of 2025, Raleigh police launched the hospitality district to boost safety in the high-traffic areas in downtown Raleigh, including the areas around the GoRaleigh bus station.

Raleigh Police Chief Rico Boyce also addressed council members and said, "Since we started the Hospitality district and we have a dedicated group of officers working in that area, we now have quarterly meetings that we are going to step up to monthly meetings. And that is important, so we know what's going on from all aspects of security in the transit mall."

Patel describes the station as an open-air facility, making it easier for crimes to happen and easier for people to get away. 

Patel said of the GoRaleigh Station, "We have about 65 buses going in and out of the station in an hour, about 14,000-17,000 people daily, so that is almost like a small airport; RDU captures about 32,000 people daily."

There is a contracted security agency at the GoRaleigh Station that is on site 20 hours a day, 7 days a week, patrolling the station.

Raleigh is also now considering adding Transit Safety Ambassadors on the buses. These ambassadors would be non-sworn employees who would ride buses and help riders with questions, concerns and help riders navigate their routes.