Transit group seeks $6B to bolster transportation security

Computerworld - With last week's London subway and bus bombings as a backdrop, a nonprofit public transportation industry group is pressuring the Senate to approve a huge increase in spending for transit system security in the U.S. -- from a proposed $100 million allocation for fiscal year 2006 to $6 billion over three years.
In an announcement Monday, the Washington-based American Public Transportation Association (APTA) said that it's asking the Senate to drastically boost transit funding as it considers the 2006 appropriations bill for the Department of Homeland Security. The Senate Appropriations Committee last month recommended spending $100 million on the nation's public transit systems, a cut of $50 million from the amount allocated last year.
APTA wants $2 billion a year spent in each of the next three years to help the systems undertake needed security improvements to fend off terrorism (see London Attacks Raise Concerns of U.S. Vulnerability).
The money is being sought for a variety of security and technology improvements, including radio systems that will allow transit agencies to talk directly with law enforcement officials during emergencies; onboard security cameras in trains, buses and in transit stations; and identification systems that use biometrics, smart cards and other technologies to control access to transit facilities and secure areas.
Money also is needed, APTA said, for automated vehicle locator systems, improved surveillance systems, intrusion-detection systems for rail tunnels and an increase in law enforcement personnel to patrol transit systems.
Greg Hull, director of operations, safety and security programs for APTA, said the $6 billion request was compiled after a detailed needs assessment was made of transit systems across the country.
"What we're trying to encourage is a greater investment by the Department of Homeland Security for technological advances," Hull said. Some existing technologies used today by defense agencies could be refined and modified with research and development to fit transit agency needs, he said.
Because public transit agencies are open to anyone, they provide greater challenges for security, Hull said. About 32 million trips a day are taken on public transit in the U.S., totaling about 9.6 billion trips annually.
"What that really means is we have a very significant risk exposure," Hull said. The number of people who go through New York's Pennsylvania Station in one hour on a typical weekday morning equals the number of travelers who fly in and out of Chicago's O'Hare International Airport in two and a half days, according to Hull. "We certainly believe there are technologies out there that could be adapted and developed"to better protect transit passengers in the U.S.
The government hasn't held back on spending for airline safety since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Hull said. Since the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, the U.S. has provided $18 billion for airline safety, he said.
Last week's terrorist bombings in London, which killed at least 52 people and injured hundreds, have inspired a "flurry of activity" on the Senate floor to try to increase transit spending here, Hull said.
"London was a wake-up call," Hull said. "We don't need any more wake-up calls. What we need is funding."