U.S. Department of Transportation	Administrator			400 Seventh St., S.W. Washington, D.C.  20590
Federal Transit Administration	October 2, 2001			C-12-01

 

Dear Colleague,

I have recently had the opportunity to talk with our friends and colleagues who provide public transportation in the New York and Washington D.C. metropolitan areas. These outstanding public servants have overcome incredible challenges since the devastation of September 11^th, and I know you join me in expressing both our deepest sympathy for the personal tragedies they have endured and our pride in the superb response they have mounted. Despite tremendous demands on their time, they were generous enough to share with me some of their own "lessons learned" from this experience. I have attached a summary of their recommendations (Attachment A) for your use and information.

While it would be comforting to think that these will be isolated events, we all know that each and every one of us must prepare for the worst. Many of you have already begun to re-think your security and emergency response plans, and others are creating such plans for the first time. Regardless of the category in which you may find yourself, we at the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) are prepared to assist you.

FTA is arranging to have professional security experts conduct security assessments of the 100 largest transit systems. Those who fall into this group will be contacted regarding the assessment schedule. These assessments are intended to help you identify security threats and develop practical solutions to the concerns that are raised.

In addition, we will be offering two-day, cost-free security awareness and training workshops across the country. If you are interested in attending a workshop, please either email Jennifer Whalley at whalley@volpe.dot.gov or fax the attached information request form (Attachment B) to (617) 494-2569, so that we can determine your scheduling needs.

In the meantime, to help you begin or enhance your security efforts, we are compiling a Safety and Security Tool Kit for your use. We expect to be able to mail these kits to you next week. The kit will include:

• FTA Services and Publications
• Practical Security and Emergency Response Advice from New York and Washington
• An Overview of FTA’s Security Assessment Services
• Key Transit Security Publications
  • Transit System Security Program Planning Guide
  • Transit Security Procedures Guide
  • Transit Security Handbook
  • Critical Incident Management Guidelines
• TCRP Synthesis Reports
  • TCRP Synthesis 21: Improving Transit Security
  • TCRP Synthesis 27: Emergency Preparedness for Transit Terrorism
• Sample Materials to Increase Public Awareness about Safety and Security
• Resource Guides
  • Transit Safety Institute Courses and Seminars Catalog, October 2001-September 2002
  • FTA Office of Safety and Security Publication Resource Guide, September 2001
  • Contact List of Organizations
• Key Intelligent Transportation System Publications
  • Advanced Public Transportation Systems: The State of the Art Update 2000
  • ITS Resource Guide 2001

I hope that having these materials at your fingertips will be helpful now and in the future. However, in order to better understand and respond to the security-related needs of the transit provider community, we need your help, too.

First, it is imperative that all security incident reports be submitted on a timely basis. These reports are important to identify patterns and potential threats to transit systems throughout the nation. To report any security incident, please call the National Response Center on 1-800-424-8802; the Center is staffed 24-hours a day.

Second, we would appreciate your help in completing a voluntary survey of security and emergency preparedness planning and practices. The survey (Attachment C) can be completed on-line at [http://ftateamweb.fta.dot.gov/SecuritySurvey], or mailed to the Federal Transit Administration, Office of Safety & Security, 400 7^th Street SW, Room 9305, Washington, DC 20590, Attention: Security Surveys. We will use your responses to identify technical assistance needs and develop more targeted programs.

Please know that your continued commitment and vigilance is truly appreciated by your colleagues at FTA and, certainly, by the people you serve every day. You are the key to keeping our communities safe and moving.

Sincerely,

Jennifer L. Dorn Administrator

Attachments

1. Practical Security and Emergency Response Advice from New York and Washington D.C.
2. Transit Security Seminars
3. Security and Emergency Management Readiness Assessment Survey