Robbers on board: exposure to violence, insecurity, and other health hazards among mass transportation workers and passengers in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil

Abstract

This paper examines the impact of violent crime on working conditions, health, and security for bus drivers and ticket takers in the mass transportation system in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. The research included 195 interviews with workers, labor union officials, passengers, management, and police. In the last ten years there have been 20,572 robberies in a fleet of 2,400 buses operated by 10,151 workers, with 67 deaths and more than US$500,000 in company losses. Perpetrators are typically poor, unemployed youths, the majority of whom first offenders, seeking easy money primarily for leisure pursuits. The average "take" from such robberies is minimal. The authors observed a pattern of bus robberies as a psychological power game which, for bus workers, apart from physical injuries and fatalities, generates fear, identity conflicts, tense relations with passengers, and labor conflicts involving the recovery of stolen fares and worker and passenger security issues. The article also outlines and evaluates the efficiency of security measures including the use of lethal force by police.