Traffickers recruit victims at bus stations and utilize buses to transport them, either following an initial online recruitment — when they’re using a bus to bring their victims to them — or to take their victims to and from places where they will be sold. In a study of survivors of trafficking, 42 percent said buses were used in the facilitation of their exploitation.

Buses can also be a lifeline. When victims attempt to exit, a bus or bus station may be the first place they’ll go to find safety or escape. In those moments, an interaction with a caring and knowledgeable person can make all the difference.

When the TAT-trained Lakefront Lines bus team was notified that a female passenger on one of their buses was allegedly being held against her will and forced into prostitution by a male passenger on the same bus, they immediately sprang into action. As the driver calmly stopped the bus, he reassured the other passengers while being as inconspicuous as possible about the reasons for the delay. He notified dispatch and triggered an internal response system that swiftly communicated with law enforcement and got police on the scene as quickly as possible. Before the bus got back on the road — and safely got the other passengers to their destination — the suspect was arrested and the alleged victim was recovered. Eventually, after additional victims were identified, the suspect was prosecuted in federal court and sentenced to 20 years in prison on sex trafficking and related charges.

In 2019, TAT awarded Lakefront Lines employees, Lauren Gnall and Larren Tarver, with its prestigious Harriet Tubman Award.