Transit Technology and Security

1. Transit Technology and Security Eva Lerner-Lam President Palisades Consulting Group, Inc. Presentation to The New York Public Transit Association 2003 Public Transit Fall Conference & Expo November 20, 2003

2. Overview of Presentation • Transit Security Challenges and Threats • “Prepare, Prevent, Protect, Respond, Recover” • Examples of Transit Technology That Can Enhance Transit Security • Deployment Obstacles

3. Transit Security Challenges • “Open” nature of transit makes it an attractive target • Multi-jurisdictional environments require aggressive coordination and cooperation • Multi-modal interactions can increase vulnerability

4. Types of Transit Security Threats • Armed Assault • Hostage Taking • Chemical Release On Board • Explosive on Board • Chemical Outside • Explosive/Sabotage Outside

5. Security Breaches on Public Transportation in the U.S. • August 6, 1927 Two bombs in two NYC Subway stations • December 7, 1993 Colin Ferguson kills 6, injures 17 on LIRR at rush hour • December 15 and 21, 1994Edward Leary explodes two bombs on the NYC subway system, injuring 53 people • October 9, 1995 "Sons of the Gestapo" kills 1, injures 65 on sabotaged Amtrak Sunset Limited in Arizona desert • November 27, 1998 Deranged passenger on a Seattle Metro bus kills bus operator, one passenger and injures 32 others. • May 2, 2001Bus hijacker in LA crashes into a minivan, killing the minivan driver and injuring seven others.

6. Good Security is Good Security • Non-terrorist • Terrorist [Opposite is also true…]

7. Key Strategies Prepare and Prevent Non-TerroristThreats TerroristThreats TRANSIT Deter & Mitigate Deter & Mitigate Respond and Recover Protect

8. Role of Transit Technology? “While there will continue to be a need for security personnel in the long term, a national search is underway for technologies that can provide increased security with less manpower. Thus, the application of technologies for homeland security is just starting, and their development will require monitoring over a long period of time.” --Rudin Center for Transportation Policy and Management July 2002

9. Security is a New User Service in the National ITS Architecture

10. How Transit Technologies Can Help • Examples of Transit Technologies that can enhance Security: • Video Surveillance Systems • Chemical Detection Systems • Automated Vehicle Location Systems • Automated Customer Information

11. Transit Technology Security Applications

12. Video Surveillance Systems • Act as deterrents as well as tools for response • Surveillance of Reconnaissance

13. Chemical Detection Systems • Chemical sniffers, computers and TV cameras provide first responders and law enforcement authorities with timely and accurate information about airborne chemical attacks in large public interior spaces • Drills show systems cut response times from 35 to 5 minutes

14. Automated Vehicle Location Systems • Fleet vehicle location and dispatch for emergency and evacuation services

15. Automated Customer Information • Evacuation and Emergency Trip Planning • PC’s, laptops, handheld devices, cellphones, pagers • National 511, 911

16. Deployment Challenges • Coordination with other agencies • Funding • “Systems Engineering Approach” (leveraging resources, avoiding stand-alone systems, evaluating alternatives) • Data and Data Interfaces

17. It’s the Data… • Data, Data, Data…Interfaces, Interfaces, Interfaces • Not just the data itself (avoiding “Garbage In/Garbage Out”) • It’s also the Data Interfaces (“good data here, good data there, but never the twain shall meet”)

18. Interoperability: Critical for Transit Technologies and Security • Types of interoperability: • Hardware • Software • Radio/Wireless Communications • Data • Systems Engineering approach • Federal Policy on National ITS Architecture

19. National ITS Architecture

20. National ITS Architecture • Provides a common framework for planning, defining, and integrating technology systems for transportation • Mature product that reflects the contributions of a broad cross-section of the transportation community

21. New York State Regional ITS Architecture • Existing and future inventory of stakeholder technology elements are identified • Generic services are defined • All information exchange requirements are defined at the architecture flow level for each user entity in the region • http://www.consystec.com/newyork/default.htm

22. In Summary • The Threat is Real and Constant • Good Security is Good Security • Transit Technologies can help to enhance security • The National ITS Architecture provides a strong foundation for integration of technology for transit security • Not just Hardware and Software; Data and Interfaces are just as important

23. For more information… • “Security Applications of Intelligent Transportation Systems--Reflections on September 11 and Implications for New York State,” A Report to the Legislature by the NYU Wagner Rudin Center for Transportation Policy and Management, July 2002 • “Homeland Security and ITS—Using Intelligent Transportation Systems to Improve and Support Homeland Security,” Supplement to the National ITS Program Plan: A Ten-Year Vision, Sept. 2002 www.palisadesgroup.com