TESTIMONY OF
WILLIAM W. MILLAR, PRESIDENT
AMERICAN PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION ASSOCIATION
BEFORE THE
SUBCOMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY
OF THE
HOUSE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
*******
April 9, 2004
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SUBMITTED BY
American Public Transportation Association
1666 K Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20006
(202) 496-4800
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 submit written
testimony on the security and safety of public transportation systems. We
appreciate your interest in transportation security, and we look forward to
working with you as you develop the FY 2005 appropriations bill for the Department
of Homeland Security.
ABOUT APTA
The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) is a nonprofit international
association of over 1500 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.
OVERVIEW
Mr. Chairman, public transportation is one of our nation's critical infrastructures.
We cannot over emphasize the critical importance of our industry to the economic
vitality of this country. America's public transportation services are by
design and necessity an open environment. Over 9.5 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 airlines, and 450 times
the number of travelers on Amtrak.
Safety and security are the top priority of the public transportation industry.
Transit systems took many steps to improve security prior to 9/11 and have
significantly increased efforts since then. Since September 11, 2001, public
transit agencies in the United States have spent approximately $1.7 billion
on security and emergency preparedness programs and technology, from their
own budgets with minimal federal funding. Recent events in Madrid only highlight
the need to enhance security on public transit systems and to do so without
delay.
In a recent APTA survey transit systems identified both capital and operating
actions that would enhance transit security; transit agencies around the country
have identified in excess of $6 billion in transit security needs. State and
local governments and transit agencies are doing what they can to improve
security, but it is important that the Federal Government be a full partner
in the effort to ensure the security of the nation's transit users.
We urge the Congress to act decisively on this issue. In light of the documented
needs, we respectfully request Congress to provide $2 billion in the FY 2005
Homeland Security Appropriations bill for transit security. Of that amount,
we suggest that $1.2 billion be provided for capital needs, and that $800
million be provided for transit operating costs. Federal funding for transit
security operating needs covers, among other things, planning, public awareness
and training.
We further request that the existing process for distributing Office of
Domestic Preparedness (ODP) federal grant funding be modified so that funds
are distributed directly to transit authorities, rather than to State Administrating
Agencies (SAA).
PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION SECURITY
Mr. Chairman, 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 has played 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
(ISAC) that provides a secure two-way reporting and analysis structure for
the transmission of critical alerts and advisories to transit agencies around
the country. This ISAC is also a mechanism for transit agencies to provide
information to the DHS.
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. As mentioned in the overview, a 2004 APTA survey to transit agencies
around the country have identified in excess of $6 billion in transit security
needs. These include both one-time 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.
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 an excellent safety record and have worked for
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 spending 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. But, 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 resources 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 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.
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 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. We believe that a funding level of $2 billion in
the FY 2005 Homeland Security Appropriations bill would effectively begin
the process of funding those needs. Of that amount, we suggest that $1.2 billion
be provided for transit capital needs, and that $800 million be provided for
transit agencies for operating costs.
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 directly to them, and we believe
this is an excellent model that we would like to see developed 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 the Congress and 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 Committee for allowing
us to submit testimony on this critical issues, and look forward to working
with you on safety and security issues.
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