As Philadelphia copes with a surge of violent crime on and around SEPTA, neighboring New York is taking bold steps to combat crime on its public transit system. Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Wednesday that she would be deploying thousands of officers, including National Guard and state police troopers, to patrol New York City’s subway system and check commuters’ bags in an attempt to reduce crime.

In Philadelphia, there were several shootings involving SEPTA this week alone, including a shooting Wednesday at one of the city’s busiest intersections that left eight Northeast High School students wounded and two SEPTA buses riddled with bullets. But city and state leaders have stopped short of calling for the National Guard to move in to stem the flow of violence.

In previous remarks, Mayor Cherelle L. Parker had alluded to the possibility, particularly to help address the open-air drug market in Kensington. But any deployment of the National Guard would require approval from Gov. Josh Shapiro, who has said he wasn’t considering such drastic action.

While Parker was noncommittal Thursday morning about seeking assistance from the National Guard, Shapiro was clear: He’s still not considering it. “I have no plans to deploy the National Guard on the streets of Philadelphia,” Shapiro said in an interview Thursday morning.