COLUMBUS (WCMH) — Columbus is seeing an increase in the number of assaults on public transportation.

The Central Ohio Transit Authority saw an increase of 65% of assaults on city buses from 2015 to 2016.

Public transportation in Columbus is still overwhelming safe but with the mass transit system expected to grow in 2017 with more lines and more service it’s something riders paying attention to.

“There is a lot of times where the bus is unsafe,” said bus rider Evalisha Carver-Wright, she uses mass transit to get to work and run errands weekly. “I remember a few weeks back a guy came on the bus with a gun,” Carver-Wright added. She has never been injured on a bus but is not surprised by the increase.

According to COTA records obtained by NBC4 there were 34 assaults on city buses in 2013, 35 in 2014 and 32 in  2015. That number increased to 53 in 2016. Many of the attacks were caught on video, like in March of 2015 when a suspect pepper sprayed all the occupants of a city bus traveling down High street.

The number is small but is one COTA is watching closely, “Our top priority is to make sure that people feel safe,” Lisa Myer with COTA said. In addition to audio and video surveillance, bus drivers are all trained in de-escalation techniques and are in constant contact with emergency radio operators.

It is still very safe to ride public transportation, “When you look at the numbers, we provide almost 19 million trips a year, you will see that the numbers are relatively low,” Myers said. COTA also encourages riders to report suspicious behavior, Myers believes the uptick could be related to that campaign.