January is National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month in the U.S., and January 11 is National Human Trafficking Awareness Day. 

This makes today an opportune time to both celebrate the strides the transit industry has taken in the fight against human trafficking and highlight ways that public transportation can continue to stand up against this heinous crime.

Understanding Human Trafficking

Human trafficking — or modern-day slavery — is a global crime in which people are bought and sold for forced labor or commercial sex. Traffickers use violence, manipulation and false promises of work opportunities or romance to lure, control and exploit their victims, generating billions of dollars per year in illicit profits. 

Of the estimated 50 million victims worldwide, thousands of girls, boys, women, and men are trafficked for sex or labor in rural, suburban, and urban neighborhoods across the U.S. and Canada. And, it’s very possible that it’s happening to someone in your community. 

Public transit agencies encounter human trafficking victims in a variety of ways. The populations most at-risk for trafficking are also those most likely to use public transportation, due to its accessibility and affordability. 

Traffickers may go to bus stops or transit centers to find potential victims or use public transportation to shuttle their victims to and from places where they will be sold. 

When survivors attempt to exit trafficking, a bus, train, or transit center may be the first place they will go to find safety or escape. This means that public transportation can be a key touchpoint for reaching these vulnerable populations, both for prevention and education, as well as for identification and intervention.

The Importance of Vigilance

According to the National Outreach Survey for Transportation:

• 60% of trafficking survivors reported a bus (e.g., intercity, public, long-distance, shuttle) was used during their recruitment into trafficking.

• 75% reported using public transportation during their exploitation.

• 35% went to a bus or subway station while being trafficked.

• 28% reported a bus was used during their escape from trafficking.

This is why TAT (Truckers Against Trafficking) is on a mission to educate every transit professional across North America about human trafficking and how to spot and report it. 

Frontline transit employees may observe red flags that a passenger on their bus or train is being exploited, or can even play a preventative role by noticing signs of grooming or recruitment.

Take, for example, the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System’s security officers who noticed a man at one of their transit centers acting aggressively toward a young woman, and then noticed  the same man returning to the transit center at other times and approaching other young women. Their report to law enforcement culminated in the arrest of the man at a motel near Los Angeles, where he and an accomplice were holding a young woman against her will.

Consider the ticket agent in Texas who assisted a young man that walked into the bus station looking for a ticket home but had no money or ID with him. He didn’t know where he was and described having come to the area with a traveling construction crew whose leader had taken control of his work documents and withheld his pay. 

Because the ticket agent was able to recognize signs of labor trafficking, they were able to connect the young man to a local service provider to receive the assistance he needed.

Think about the Oklahoma City bus driver who picked up a passenger in distress while driving his regular route. She was crying and seemed frightened. She was dirty, disheveled, and had cuts and bruises on her body. When he asked if she was okay, she told him that he couldn’t help her… she was running away from “bad people.” 

In 2022, that bus driver was the recipient of TAT’s Harriet Tubman Award, alongside two colleagues who helped connect the woman to services and law enforcement. 

All of these are real life examples of members of the transit industry who, with the proper awareness and training, were able to make a report that assisted victims of trafficking and, in some cases, helped stop traffickers from victimizing other individuals in the future. 

What You Can Do?

Since launching its bus program in 2017, TAT (Truckers Against Trafficking) has seen the transit industry embrace their role in combating human trafficking. 

To date, tens of thousands of transit professionals have joined a mobile army of over two million members of the transportation industry who are committed to standing up against human trafficking. 

This January, TAT is asking every transit manager, driver, ticket agent, dispatcher, and security personnel to consider how they can continue to play a role in protecting the passengers they transport every day from this heinous crime. 

Here are three ways you can get involved this month:

• Learn more. TAT’s free online course for transit professionals can be completed in just 30 minutes, and offers an overview of the issue and steps transit employees can take to play a role in fighting this heinous crime.

• Implement training. TAT also provides free, industry-specific training materials that can be used for training and safety meetings to educate staff on the issue of human trafficking.

• Join the movement. In May, TAT will host the first annual Youth on Transportation Safety Month, which will unite transportation stakeholders for a campaign dedicated to educating youth about human trafficking in age-appropriate ways. Learn more about how you can participate at www.tatnonprofit.org/safety-month.

If every transit employee — bus driver, dispatcher, security guard, etc. — could be trained to identify the signs of human trafficking and how to report it effectively, imagine how many victims could be recovered and, potentially, how many traffickers could be arrested. 

Learn more and get involved today.