TESTIMONY OF
DANIEL DUFF, VICE PRESIDENT—GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS
AMERICAN PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION ASSOCIATION
BEFORE THE
SUBCOMMITTEE ON RAILROADS
HOUSE COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE
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May 5, 2004
SUBMITTED BY
American Public Transportation Association
1666 K Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20006
Tel: (202) 496-4800
Fax: (202) 496-4324
APTA is a nonprofit international association of over
1,500 public and private member organizations including transit systems and
commuter rail operators; planning, design, construction and finance firms;
product and service providers; academic institutions; transit associations
and state departments of transportation. APTA members serve the public interest
by providing safe, efficient and economical transit services and products.
Over ninety percent of persons using public transportation in the United States
and Canada are served by APTA members.
Mr. Chairman, thank you for this opportunity to testify on
the security and safety of passenger rail and public transportation systems.
We commend the House Subcommittee on Railroads for holding this hearing today
particularly in light of the recent terrorist attacks in Madrid, Spain.
ABOUT APTA
The American Public Transportation Association (APTA)
is a nonprofit international association of over 1,500 public and private
member organizations including transit systems and commuter rail operators;
planning, design, construction, and finance firms; product and service providers;
academic institutions; transit associations and state departments of transportation.
APTA members serve the public interest by providing safe, efficient, and economical
transit services and products. Over ninety percent of persons using public
transportation in the United States and Canada are served by APTA member systems.
PASSENGER RAIL AND PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION SECURITY
Mr. Chairman, we do not need to emphasize the critical
importance of keeping America’s public transportation secure in this time
of heightened national security. While this Subcommittee has jurisdiction
over passenger and freight rail, we must look at the security of our surface
transportation program in its entirety and that includes the full spectrum
of public transportation services. At intermodal hubs such as Washington’s
Union Station there are blends of services including -intercity passenger
rail, commuter rail, subway, and bus transportation. Congress should examine
the unique security needs for all of America’s public transportation.
This intermodal relationship extends to the nation’s
freight railroads, and APTA is pleased to work closely with the Association
of American Railroads in this regard. Many commuter rail services are operated
on freight-owned lines. Moreover, many commuter rail systems handle significant
amounts of rail freight traffic. For example, the Southern California Regional
Rail Authority (SCRRA) provides the right-of-way for the movement of 50 to
75 freight trains a day on property it owns, including all the rail freight
traffic out of the Port of San Diego and 10-15% of the rail freight traffic
out of the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.
America’s public transportation services
are by design and necessity an open environment. Over 9 billion transit trips
are taken annually on all modes of transit service. People use public transportation
vehicles over 32 million times each weekday. This is more than sixteen times
the number of daily travelers aboard the nation’s domestic airlines and over
450 times the number used by Amtrak intercity services. The numbers of customers
using public transportation each and every day create ongoing challenges for
enhancing security within our transit environments.
In addition, transit employees are on the front line
in our nation’s effort against terrorism. They are the first responder evacuation
teams who will assist in getting the public out of critical incident areas
and our cities in the event of a terrorist attack. This was evident on September
11, 2001, when public transportation in New York City, New Jersey and Washington,
D.C. helped safely evacuate citizens from center cities. Indeed, this same
story was true around the country as transit systems quickly and efficiently
evacuated people from closed airports and downtown areas. We remember that
the interstate highway program was begun by President Eisenhower as a national
defense interstate highway program. It is clear now that public transportation,
too, has a significant national defense component and is a fundamental element
in responding to community disasters and emergencies.
In that connection, APTA is honored to play a critical role
in transportation security and works closely with a number of federal agencies
in this regard, notably the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and the Federal
Railroad Administration of the U.S. Department of Transportation, and the
Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the Office of Domestic Preparedness
(ODP), and the Directorate of Information Analysis & Infrastructure Protection
of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. At the program level, APTA works
closely with these agencies to administer an industry audit program that oversees
a system safety and security management plan for transit systems around the
country. Our safety audit program for commuter rail, bus, and rail transit
operations has been in place for many years and includes elements specific
to security planning and emergency preparedness. Separately, in connection
with Presidential Decision Directive Number 63, we are pleased to have been
designated a Public Transportation Sector Coordinator by the Department of
Transportation, and as my testimony notes below, we have established a Transit
Information Sharing Analysis Center that provides a secure two-way reporting
and analysis structure for the transmission of critical alerts and advisories
to transit agencies around the country.
Since the events of 9/11, state and local public transit
agencies, like all state and local entities, have spent significant sums on
police overtime, enhanced planning and training exercises, and capital improvements
related to security. In response to a 2004 APTA survey, transit agencies around
the country have identified in excess of $6 billion in transit security needs.
These include both immediate capital investments and recurring operating expenses
related to security. It is important to note that these costs are above and
beyond the capital infrastructure needs we have identified under the TEA 21
reauthorization effort. Our comprehensive transit security survey has just
now become available, and I would be pleased to submit the complete survey
for the record.
BACKGROUND
Mr. Chairman, prior to and following September 11, 2001—the
date of the most devastating terrorist attack in U.S. history—APTA has played
a key role in addressing the safety and security issues of our country. American
public transportation agencies have also taken significant measures to enhance
their security and emergency preparedness efforts to adjust to society’s new
state of concern. Although agencies had a wide range of security initiatives
in place at the time of the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks and already
had developed emergency response plans, the September 11 incidents focused,
strengthened and prioritized security efforts throughout the industry.
Transit agencies have had a good safety record and have
been working for many years to enhance their system security and employee
security training, partly responding to government standards, APTA guidelines,
and by learning through the attacks on transit agencies abroad. For example,
the 1995 sarin gas attack in the Tokyo subway system caused U.S. transit properties
managing tunnels and underground transit stations to go on high alert. The
San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District, for instance, responded to
the possible threat of chemical weapons attacks by sending a police team to
Fort McClellan, Alabama, to learn response tactics from U.S. Army chemical
weapons experts.
In the months following the September 11 terrorist attacks,
transit agencies of all sizes worked to identify where they might be vulnerable
to attacks and increased their security expenses for both operations and capital
costs. The agencies subsequently upgraded and strengthened their emergency
response and security plans and procedures, taking steps to protect transit
infrastructure and patrons and increase transit security presence while giving
riders a sense of security.
Some initiatives around the country
include:
- Increased surveillance via closed circuit TV.
- Increased training for employees.
- Hired more police, K-9 units added.
- Chemical detection systems being tested.
- Infrastructure design to eliminate hiding places.
- Drills are routinely held with first responders.
- Encouraging riders to be vigilant for suspicious activities or items.
After September 11, many transit organizations worked
to prevent unauthorized entry into transit facilities. The need for employees
and passengers to stay alert and report suspicious occurrences became a key
goal of many agencies. These efforts are paying off. While many transit agencies
are more secure than prior to September 11, more needs to be done.
Since the attacks, APTA and the Federal Transit Administration
have emphasized the need for effective transit security and emergency preparedness.
FTA has sent security resource toolkits to transit agencies; completed security-vulnerability
assessments of the nation’s largest transit systems; and provided technical
support and grants of up to $50,000 to fund agency emergency drills.
FTA continues to provide emergency
preparedness and security forums nationwide. In emphasizing the importance
of enhancing transit security, FTA Administrator Jennifer L. Dorn noted that
thousands of lives were spared on September 11 in New York City and Washington
"because of the quick action of first responders and transit workers."
APTA has launched many additional efforts to further
transit industry security and preparedness, collaborating with FTA in developing
emergency preparedness forums, and sponsoring and organizing security-related
conferences and workshops. Moreover, APTA developed a list of critical safety
and security needs faced by the transit industry, which it has provided to
the Department of Transportation and the U.S. Congress. Mr. Chairman, I would
be pleased to submit this and other data discussed in my testimony for the
record.
PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION INFORMATION SHARING ANALYSIS CENTER
(ISAC)
Presidential Decision Directive Number 63 authorizes
and encourages national critical infrastructures to develop and maintain ISACs
as a means of strengthening security and protection against cyber and operations
attacks. APTA is pleased to have been designated a Public Transportation Sector
Coordinator by the U.S. Department of Transportation, and in that capacity
has received a $1.2 million grant from the Federal Transit Administration
to establish a transit ISAC. APTA recently formalized an agreement with a
private company to implement the ISAC and make it available to public transit
systems around the country.
This ISAC for public transit provides a secure two-way
reporting and analysis structure for the transmission of critical alerts and
advisories as well as the collection, analysis and dissemination of security
information from transit agencies. The public transit ISAC also provides a
critical linkage between the transit industry, the U.S. Department of Transportation,
the Transportation Security Administration, and the Office of Homeland Security.
A request for funding to continue this ISAC has been submitted to the Department
of Homeland Security’s Directorate of Information Analysis & Infrastructure
Protection.
ONGOING TRANSIT SECURITY PROGRAMS
Mr. Chairman, while transit agencies
have moved to a heightened level of security alertness, the leadership of
APTA has been actively working with its strategic partners to develop a practical
plan to address our industry’s security and emergency preparedness needs.
Shortly after the September 11 events, the APTA Executive Committee established
a Security Task Force under the leadership of Washington Metro’s CEO, Richard
A. White. The APTA Security Task Force has established a security strategic
plan that prioritizes direction for our initiatives. Among those initiatives,
the Task Force serves as the steering group for determining security projects
that are being implemented through over $2 million in Transit Cooperative
Research Project funding through the Transportation Research Board.
Through this funding, APTA held four transit security
workshop forums for the larger transit systems with potentially greater risk
exposure. These workshops provided confidential settings to enable sharing
of security practices and applying methodologies to various scenarios. The
outcomes from these workshops were made available in a controlled and confidential
format to other transit agencies unable to attend the workshops. The workshops
were held in New York, San Francisco, Atlanta, and Chicago.
In partnerships with the Transportation Research Board,
the APTA Security Task Force has also established two TCRP Panels that identified
and initiated specific projects developed to address Preparedness/Detection/Response
to Incidents and Prevention and Mitigation. The Security Task Force
emphasized the importance for the research projects to be operationally practical.
In addition to the TCRP funded efforts, a generic Checklist
For Transit Agency Review Of Emergency Response Planning And System Review
has been developed by APTA as a resource tool and is available on the APTA
website. Also through the direction of the Security Task Force, APTA has reached
out to other organizations and international transportation associations to
formally engage in sharing information on our respective security programs
and directions and to continually work towards raising the bar of safety and
security effectiveness.
Within this concept of partnership and outreach, APTA
also continues in its ongoing collaboration with the Federal Transit Administration
to help in guiding and developing FTA programs. Among these are regional Emergency
Preparedness and Security Planning Workshops that are currently being delivered
through the Volpe Center and have been provided in numerous regions throughout
the U.S. The primary focus of such workshops has been to assist particularly
smaller transit systems in building effective emergency response plans with
first responders and their regional offices of emergency management. Also
within this partnership, APTA has assisted the FTA and the National Transit
Institute in the design of a new program "Security Awareness Training for
Frontline Employees and Supervisors." This program is now being provided by
NTI to transit agencies throughout the nation.
Collaborative efforts between APTA, FTA, Volpe Center,
and the National Transit Institute are also underway to establish a joint
website that will specifically gather and disseminate effective transit practices
with initial emphasis on safety and security.
As you may be aware, APTA has long-established Safety
Audit Programs for Commuter Rail, Bus, and Rail Transit Operations. Within
the scope of these programs are specific elements pertaining to Emergency
Response Planning and Training as well as Security Planning. In
keeping with our industry’s increased emphasis on these areas, the APTA Safety
Audit Programs have similarly been modified to place added attention to these
critical elements.
APTA’s Committee on Public Safety, continues to provide
a most critical forum for transit security professionals to meet and share
information, experiences and programs and to also provide valuable input to
programs being developed by the FTA.
SECURITY INVESTMENT NEEDS
Mr. Chairman, after the awful events of 9/11, the transit
industry invested some $1.7 billion in enhanced security measures building
on the industry’s considerable efforts already in place. At the same time,
our industry undertook a comprehensive review to determine how we could build
upon our existing industry security practices. This included a range of activities,
some of which I discussed earlier in my testimony, including research, best
practices, education, information sharing in the industry, surveys and the
like. As a result of those efforts we are now at a phase where we know what
we can most effectively do in terms of creating a more secure environment
for our riders and have accordingly identified critical security investment
needs.
Our latest survey of public transportation security identified
needs of at least $5.2 billion in additional capital funding to maintain,
modernize, and expand transit system security functions to meet increased
security demands. Over $800 million in increased operating costs for security
personnel, training, technical support, and research and development have
been identified, bringing total additional transit security funding needs
to more than $6 billion.
Responding transit agencies were asked to prioritize
the uses for which they required additional federal investment for security
needs. Priority examples of operational needs include:
Funding current and additional transit agency and local
law enforcement personnel.
Funding for over-time costs and extra security personnel
during heightened alert levels.
Training for security personnel.
Joint transit/law enforcement training.
Security planning activities.
Security training for other transit personnel.
Priority examples of security capital investment needs include:
Radio communications systems.
Security cameras on-board transit vehicles and in transit
stations.
Controlling access to transit facilities and secure areas.
Automated vehicle locator systems.
Security fencing around facilities.
Transit agencies with large rail operations also reported
a priority need for federal capital funding for intrusion detection devices.
To date the DHS has allocated some $115 million for public
transportation security through its Office of Domestic Preparedness, and we
appreciate this support from the Department. We trust that we can now begin
to build on those initial investments and address the $6 billion in critical
needs the transit industry has identified. The Administration’s FY 2005 budget,
however, does not specifically call for investment in public transportation
security. We think it should. Currently ODP grants for transit systems are
made available through the states, which means that our transit systems do
not have a direct relationship with DHS, and which also means that the process
of getting the funds to the local transit systems can be lengthy. Mr. Chairman,
our nation’s transit systems have a direct and cooperative working relationship
with DOT’s Federal Transit Administration which allocates federal capital
investment quickly to the local level, and we believe this is an excellent
model that we would like to see developed over time with the DHS. We stand
ready to help in any way we can in that regard.
CONCLUSION
Mr. Chairman, in light of our nation’s
heightened security concerns post 9/11, we believe that increased federal
investment in public transportation security by DHS is critical. The public
transportation industry has made great strides in transit security improvements
since 9/11 but much more needs to be done. We look forward to building on
our cooperative working relationship with the Department of Homeland Security
and Congress to begin to address these needs. We again thank you and the Subcommittee
for allowing us to testify today and your commitment in the nation’s transportation
infrastructure, and look forward to working with you on safety and security
issues.
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