Ramona Watkins, of Rankin, said her 15-year-old son warned her to watch her back when walking the East Busway in Swissvale.

Even though her home is less than 10 minutes from the Swissvale busway station and she usually walks in daylight, a rash of robberies on the Busway during the past six weeks has caused Ms. Watkins' family to worry for her safety. But Ms. Watkins isn't quite ready to give up on the Busway.

"I don't think I will change," she said. "If anything, I'll be more cautious. If it's at night, I will probably take a different bus that lets me off closer to home or have someone meet me at the Busway."

But another reason Ms. Watkins won't change her routine is the presence of Swissvale and Port Authority Transit police at the Busway, which she said has increased recently.

"I did notice police officers at the Busway every day for the past week," she said. "I saw them at the bus stop in Wilkinsburg, Swissvale and Homewood."

Port Authority police and local police forces say they hope those committing the robberies notice their presence as well. After five occurred over six weeks near bus stations in Swissvale, Wilkinsburg and Homewood, Port Authority police dispatched more officers to those stations and put undercover officers on buses.

"Everyone in [these] communities who's been at bus stops has been very appreciative and has voiced appreciation to officers when they see them," said Stephen McCauley, Port Authority police chief.

He also said working with local departments has been helpful in providing information.

"We've collaborated with City [of Pittsburgh] and Wilkinsburg police and shared reports with both departments," Mr. McCauley said. "We've upped patrols substantially."

Greg Geppert, chief of Swissvale police, said Mr. McCauley called him last week to discuss a joint effort to monitor his borough's two bus stops. He said there were problems on the Busway in Swissvale as early as May and his force regularly monitors streets around the Busway.

"We do Wood Street checks hourly and we'll make sure they go down near the bus station. We do a lot of extra patrolling," he said.

Mr. McCauley said it is important to bring neighborhood forces into the loop with the robberies because, although they have occurred near the Busway, they are primarily neighborhood problems.

He said investigators have ruled out the possibility that the robberies are part of an organized effort, and because each of the actors ran back into the neighborhood after the thefts, local police should be concerned the robbers may strike outside of the Busway.

"If it was a large group, you figure if you get one, you get all of them," Mr. McCauley said. "That's not the case here. They're not cruising neighborhoods to look at other areas to rob. They're in their area because they know their area."

Although patrols have been stepped up, and the Port Authority police have not reported any robbery since last week, no arrests have been made. Some bus riders remain afraid of what could happen at their stop.

"Sometimes, I think if it's a little late, I might take a different route, a longer route," said Stan Williams of East Pittsburgh, who drives to the Swissvale Park-n-Ride to catch the bus.

"It's a shame you don't feel safe riding buses because people have to get to work," said Arianna Boight-Cherna of Bloomfield.

But Ms. Watkins said she feels safer because she thinks the patrols will discourage robbers from coming back to the Busway.

"You never know when someone's going to try to rob you, but they never know when the police will come around," she said.