Baltimore school police and city police will patrol buses and crack down on unruly passengers, under a plan officials unveiled Thursday to thwart further violence on transit vehicles.

“This initiative, Operation Safe Ride, reinforces our commitment to safety. Our customers should be assured that the continuing safety of our passengers is our highest priority,” said Col. David Franklin, chief of Maryland Transit Administration Police.

Until now, the jurisdiction of school police did not extend beyond schools, and city police would wait for MTA police to arrive before investigating crimes on state-owned buses and Metro stops, said Jawauna Greene, MTA spokeswoman.

“We’re now allowing them to take the lead and have the ability to pull whomever they want off the bus,” she said.

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“The message is: If you break the law, we’re gonna find you.”

Two groups of teens were kicked off a bus after fighting Wednesday. A middle-school girl was stabbed in the arm Tuesday while fighting with other youths on a bus near Mondawmin Mall. Five men attacked two other male passengers on a bus in Brooklyn last week. And earlier this month, nine middle-schoolers severely beat a woman after refusing her a seat, police say.

So far this school year, MTA police have reported 11 aggravated assaults involving students and two robberies.

MTA police, city police and school police have identified a dozen “priority” areas for patrols around 15 schools. In addition, the three agencies plan to share daily intelligence on fights, gangs, drugs and school closings.

MTA police will also:

» Remove disorderly passengers and wait with a student for the next available ride if the behavior improves.

» Install decals on all buses, Metro and light rail trains with a message about video monitoring.

» Review video footage for examples of unacceptable behavior to give to schools to use in behavior programs for students.

kvolkmann@baltimoreexaminer.com