Twice in the past week, there have been stabbings at the downtown transit center, where thousands of bus passengers travel every day.

Both incidents, according to Regional Transit Service officials, started with confrontations between individuals who know each other; however, a security guard was stabbed in the first incident and is recovering.

Though isolated incidents, they come after a long period of relative quiet and peace at the downtown center and threaten to leave an impression of dangerousness at the St. Paul Street facility.

"Our team along with the RPD (Rochester police) have performed heroically and we will work together to keep this from happening," RTS spokesman Tom Brede said in a statement.

Each day, 25,000 to 30,000 people move through the transit center for transportation — or six times the number at the Greater Rochester International Airport. The facility is easily one of the busiest sites in the Rochester region, and a sign of the continued need for public transportation.

Security guard stabbed

On Monday afternoon, a security guard tried to break up a fight when she was stabbed. The 23-year-old woman was stabbed once in the lower body, according to police, and the injury was "non-life-threatening."

Alonzo Green, 40, of Rochester, was accused of the stabbing and was charged with second-degree assault, a felony.

Around 4:20 p.m. Friday, police found a 19-year-old at the center who had been stabbed in the "upper body." He, too, was transferred to the hospital "for treatment of non-life threatening injuries," police said.

As of Saturday afternoon, no arrests had been made with the crime.

"Twice this week people who knew each other chose to settle their differences inside the RTS Transit Center," Brede said in the statement. "It is unfortunate, frustrating and unacceptable."

More:Security guard stabbed at Rochester Transit Center

Do RTS riders feel safe?

The Regional Transit Service contracts with private security at the facility, which is also patrolled by Rochester police.

On Saturday, Terrance German said at the transit center that he was aware of the stabbings, but they did not change his opinion of the safety of the facility. He rides the bus almost daily, he said, adding that any occasional altercation is typically the offspring of animosity that already existed between people.

"I feel safe here," he said.

Shannon Bolton, another regular RTS user, said the same. She was at the center when Friday's crime occurred, she said. She saw the response by security and emergency workers.

"It just happened fast," Bolton said.

But that didn't slow her from taking the bus the next day, nor will it in the future, she said. Her approach: "Mind my own business."

Like German, she said the rare confrontations she witnesses usually percolated elsewhere beforehand.

"I don't feel unsafe," Bolton said. "It could happen anywhere."

(Includes reporting by staff writer David Andreatta)

GCRAIG@Gannett.com