Project Scope

Background:

Many of the passenger railway operators maintain an exclusion or trespass policy that effectively bans violators from using the system for a period of time in conjunction with, or in lieu of, other penalties related to the violation. 

There is currently insufficient data and understanding of the scope of the use of such policies, and the effectiveness of the types of policies is worthy of analysis.  Exclusion policies vary in scope, qualifiers, purpose, and approach.  Timelines for exclusion and triggers for exclusion from a transit system, in particular, vary across transit providers.  There are no centralized industry best practices or policy models for implementing or maintaining a transit exclusion policy.

National and international transit security partners would benefit from greater knowledge of the various types of policies currently in use, as well as their scope.  To understand how exclusion policies should be crafted and when they should be used, it is essential to know which transit operators use exclusion policies, the policy designs that are currently in use, and how they are measured for effectiveness. 

Synthesis Objective:

This synthesis will document the practice of the use of transportation exclusion policies in North American transit systems. The final deliverable should assist transit agencies to understand the usefulness of such policies, as well as methods for creating, amending, or supplementing exclusion policies to maximize their effectiveness in reducing crime and disorder within their respective transit systems. 

Information To Be Gathered (Not an exhaustive list):

•       Definition of a transit exclusion policy

•       Examples of exclusion policies across medium and large transit agencies

•       Effectiveness of the exclusion policy

•       Differences between exclusion policies and ejectment or ejection policies

•       Impact of transit exclusion policies on crime

How the Information Will Be Gathered:

•       a literature review (e.g. agency reports, peer reviewed journal articles, web articles, agency websites) that will include description of all the technologies available);

•       a survey on a broad range of North American transit agencies; and,

•       At least five case examples that will gather information on the policies, its effectiveness, challenges of implementation, etc.

TRB Staff
Mariela Garcia-Colberg
Phone: 202-334-2361
Email: mgarciacolberg@nas.edu

Meeting Dates
First Panel: September 29, 2022
Teleconference with Consultant: November 2022
Second Panel: June 2023

Topic Panel 

Theo Bakomihalis, Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority (PSTA)

Marilyn Dillon, EMBARK

Rodney Massman, Missouri Public Service Commission 

Timothy McClelland, Houston METRO

Leo Pittman, Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority 

Elizabeth Presutti, Des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority (DART)

Al Stiehler, San Diego Metropolitan Transit System 

Leroy White, Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA)