BACKGROUND

Rural, small urban, and community based public transportation agencies face many of the same security concerns as other service sector enterprises. Transit employees may experience workplace violence or spillovers of domestic violence, and there is a risk of domestic or international terrorism. Beyond the immediate trauma, intentional harm to an employee, a destroyed vehicle, or a vandalized facility can be very disruptive to operations and emotionally disturbing to employees and riders. Consequently, transit systems must have a plan to identify and to eliminate the risk or minimize the loss.

Rural, small urban, and community based public transportation systems do not generally have adequate staffing and funding resources to develop and apply the type of system security plans that may be generated and used in larger urban areas. Where the larger systems are well-served by the FTA System Security and Emergency Preparedness Planning Guide, the template presented in that Guide (attached as SAMPLE SEPP Plan.doc) needs to be modified to meet the everyday security needs and resources of rural, small urban, and community-based systems. These industry segments need basic and realistic templates to be used in developing customized security plans, combined with effective training tools. Template in this context means a tool or tools that will allow the plan preparer to fill in the blanks.

OBJECTIVES

The objectives of this research are to develop a security planning template and to design training for developing security plans and integrating those plans into the routine transit operations of rural, small urban, and community-based public transportation systems.

Accomplishment of the project objectives will require at least the following tasks.

TASKS

Task 1. Develop a plan template based on the FTA Public Transportation System Security and Emergency Preparedness Planning Guide and other relevant sources.

Task 2. Prepare lesson plans for the training modules to be designed in Task 5.

Task 3. Prepare a detailed plan for delivering the training pilot in Task 6.

Task 4. Submit an interim report providing the results of Tasks 1 through 3.

Task 5. Design an exciting, high impact, results-oriented training program based on adult learning theory. This program should include two modules:
A. How to use the template to develop the system security plan
B. How to integrate the newly developed system security plan into existing operations
Each module shall include an Instructor Guide as well as a Participant Workbook.
Contractor effort should primarily focus on Task 5B.

Task 6. Deliver a pilot presentation (for up to 20 participants) of the training program developed in Task 5. Debrief with the project panel immediately after the pilot presentation.

Task 7. Submit a Final Report comprised of the training program and template materials (revised based on the pilot and panel review).

Status: Completed. An experts workshop was held in Chicago in July 2004. A pilot training program was presented in Houston in January 2005. A second pilot training program and a train-the-trainer session were presented in conjunction with the Community Transportation Association of America Annual Meeting in May 2005. The final report was published as TCRP Report 86, Volume 10: Hazard and Security Plan Workshop: Instructor Guide.