Street Harassment on Transit Survey Instrument for California Transit Agencies

California Senate Bill 1161 (2022) directed the Mineta Transportation Institute to develop a reliable, easy-to-use survey instrument for collecting information from public transit passengers about the extent, location, and characteristics of any street harassment they experience. 

The legislation requires the survey to collect data on a number of specific topics. With respect to harassment, the legislation calls for gathering information on the following topics:

(i) Whether a rider experiences street harassment.

(ii) The frequency with which a rider experiences street harassment.

(iii) The type of street harassment experienced by a rider.

(iv) The actual or perceived characteristics that serve as the basis for street harassment experienced by a rider.

(v) Where and when a rider experiences street harassment, including on what mode of transit.

(vi) Whether a rider experiencing street harassment is alone or accompanied by others.

(vii) Whether a rider experiencing street harassment reports the incident, and, if so, to whom and the response received.

(viii) The impact of street harassment on a rider, including whether and how they change their use of transit.

(ix) A rider’s perceptions of safety while using transit.

In addition, the survey must document the following characteristics about the respondent: “race, ethnicity, religion, age, disability, income, primary language, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation."

To read the "Learning about Street Harassment on Transit: Preparing a Survey Instrument for California Transit Agencies" report, visit the main study page. 

The survey instrument was produced in English, Spanish, and Chinese. It is translated into 11 AAPI languages with support from Stop AAPI Hate.