November 2022 - 24

2022 Transit Safety & Security Report
were the most recent agencies to
approve ambassador programs
aimed at increasing outreach and
engagement of non-criminal issues.
GCRTA says both transit ambassadors
and crisis intervention specialists
will work in collaboration with
GCRTA's Transit Police and have
their own specific responsibilities.
L.A. Metro's program is modeled
after successful ambassador
programs at Bay Area Rapid Transit
and Southeastern Pennsylvania
Transportation Authority and was
shown to be supported by riders who
said they wanted to see more L.A.
Metro staff on the system. L.A. Metro
stressed the three-to-five-year pilot
program has an emphasis on greeting
riders and creating positive and compassionate
interactions with them.
Uniformed law enforcement has
also increased on systems, notably
Metropolitan Transportation Authority
(MTA) in New York City,
which is deploying an addition
1,200 officers daily throughout its
rail network with support of the
state and city, and Chicago Transit
Authority (CTA), which has placed
safety as a cornerstone of its Meeting
the Moment initiative.
CTA renewed a three-year
agreement with the Chicago Police
Department where CTA will
be provided additional sworn police
officers who volunteer to police the
transit system through the police
department's Voluntary Special
Employment Program (VSEP). The
use of VSEP officers is in addition
to plans the police department has
to assign additional officers to CTA
trains and platforms.
CTA also deployed K-9 teams to
patrol its rail system. CTA calls the
use of K-9 teams through a trained
contractor a supplementary security
move to law enforcement patrols.
How effective this increased
presence has on transit security
will depend on the community and
system. In St. Louis, Mo., Bi-State
Development Agency, which operates
St. Louis Metro services, credits
a greater security presence across its
system for providing a " foundation
for a more proactive approach to
policing. " In the agency's second
quarter 2022 MetroLink Task Force
Incident Report, incidents were
shown to have increased. However,
the agency reports 71 percent of
those incidents were self-initiated.
" The effectiveness of the security
measures and collaboration we have
put into place over the last two-plus
years is evident throughout our latest
incident report. Incidents are up,
but that is 100 percent attributable
to the proactive work of our law
enforcement partners, " said Kevin
Scott, general manager of security,
Bi-State Development.
Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART)
reports its police officers have made
more felony arrest in 2022 than
they have in four years. BART Police
Department says the increase
is because there are more officers
patrolling the system.
" This increase in felony arrests is
proof that our officers are making
a difference in keeping our system
safe, " said BART Police Chief Ed
Alvarez. " The increased number
of felony arrests is further proof
our Progressive Policing strategy
is allowing sworn officers to focus
on serious crimes. "
Technology Support
While the BART Police Department
recognizes an increased presence of
officers on its system has resulted in
safety improvements, it notes the efforts
of officers are supported by " a
robust network of more than 4,000
working cameras. " BPD officers
have been able to use images from
these cameras to identify suspects
in some of the crimes on the system.
Another agency to invest in camera
systems for improved security is
New York MTA, which was awarded
a U.S. Department of Homeland
Security Preparedness Grant in
September 2022 to install cameras
across its entire subway fleet. MTA
has installed cameras in all of its
subway stations, and the grant will
extend that coverage at 130 stations,
as well as allow the agency to purchase
5,400 cameras that will be
24 | Mass Transit | MassTransitmag.com | NOVEMBER 2022
installed on 2,700 subway cars. All
subway cars should be equipped with
cameras sometime in 2025.
Outside of the subway system,
MTA has expanded the use of automated
bus lane enforcement (ABLE)
cameras and expects to install the
technology on an additional 300
buses by the end of 2022.
MTA calls ABLE cameras " an essential
tool to keep bus lanes clear "
and keeping buses on schedule. The
cameras capture busway and bus
lane rules violations in real-time
and transmits the information to
the New York City Department of
Transportation (NYCDOT) for review
and processing.
Cameras are also being used to
improve safety around critical public/transportation
interfaces, such as
grade crossings. As Mass Transit reported
in the June 2022 issue, Federal
Railroad Administration-funded
research, led by a team from Rutgers
University, uses an AI-driven computer
vision system that analyzes
video and collects several key pieces
of information on all trespassing
events occurring at a given location.
The information can then be used to
evaluate what engineering, engagement
and/or enforcement methods
may be implemented to reduce the
number of crossing violations.
Advancing technology is delivering
safety and security improvements
to the transit industry, but
this rapid pace of development also
carries a certain amount of risk
when the topic of cybersecurity is
considered. Check Point Research
found the transportation sector saw
a 38 percent increase in average
weekly cyber attacks comparing Q3
2021 data to Q3 2022 data. A report
from Verizon this year determined
82 percent of data breaches involved
the human element, making employee
education and awareness of
potential threats a critical focus area
for the industry.
Mineta Transportation Institute
(MTI) published a paper in July
urging broader collaboration when
it comes to cybersecurity between
the U.S. transit industry and its
Safety &
Security
Summaries
& Trends
Cybersecurity
Transportation
sector saw a
38-percent
increase
in average
weekly attacks
comparing Q3
2021 data to
Q3 2022 data
Check Point Research
82
percent
of data breaches
involved the
human element
Verizon
Total reported
security events
increased
more than 17%
between 2020
and 2021
*NTD Safety & Security
Time Series Data July 2022;
Security Events are not
reported to NTD unless they
meet Major Event thresholds
http://www.MassTransitmag.com
November 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of November 2022
