About two years ago, at the back of a crowded bus, I faced a minor ethical dilemma. A man boarded on Lower Queen Anne, swaggered to the back, pushed aside someone sitting there, and spread across two seats. He unzipped his backpack and extracted armloads of CDs, small electronic items, and miscellaneous goods—all still in their wrap, evidently boosted from one of the nearby record stores and perhaps Bartell’s or Radio Shack—and began stacking, sorting, and counting. Taking inventory. If anyone caught his eye he glowered menacingly; once he snarled (in Spanish). He was thirty or so, fit and sober, clearly in command of his faculties. This was no street wretch or casual teenage shoplifter.

What to do? Act like a cop, ask him where he got the stuff, and hope the other passengers would back me in whatever happened next—and that no one in these close quarters got hurt? No calling the real cops; I didn’t have a cellphone. I opted to tell the busdriver about the apparent thief counting his swag on the bus. The driver grunted and kept his eyes on the road. Mr. Backpack glowered even more menacingly, and I did my best to glower back.

I knew I was being a busybody, but I felt obliged to do what I could. Now, after reading Wednesday’s Seattle Times, I realize Metro drivers have much more serious crimes to overlook. A homeless, wheelchair-bound woman claims to have been abducted via bus by a man who’d previously raped her. She told police the driver did nothing though she pled for help. And two years ago, a local jury ordered Metro to pay $250,000 to a man and woman who’d been dragged off a bus and beaten by 30 young thugs. That driver didn’t even call dispatch.

In parts of Brazil, buses have become free-crime zones where robbers roam with impunity. And only the poor, who have little to steal and no alternative, ride them. We’re a long way from that, but could laziness, fear, and indifference get us there? Maybe you’ve seen crimes aboard buses, or been a victim yourself. Did driver and passengers look the other way? Or maybe you’re a driver who sees the problem from the other end of the bus. Would intervening just slow down transit, perhaps even endanger drivers and passengers? Or is it too much to expect drivers to watch for crimes and call for help?