The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) recently honored 16 U.S. public transportation agencies for achieving the highest rating—“Gold Standard”—on their most recent Baseline Assessments for Security Enhancement (BASE) for their dedication to building a strong security program. (Fifteen of the 16 agencies are APTA members.)

The 15 members recognized for achieving the Gold Standard in 2012 are MTA Bus Company and MTA Staten Island Railway, New York; ­Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, Boston; San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District, Oakland, CA; Port Authority Trans-Hudson Corporation, Jersey City, NJ; Metro Transit, ­Minneapolis-St. Paul; Metra commuter rail, Chicago; San Diego Metropolitan Transit System; Port Authority of ­Allegheny County, ­Pittsburgh; Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, San Jose, CA; Utah Transit Authority, Salt Lake City; Pace Suburban Bus, Arlington Heights, IL; Connecticut Transit-­Hartford Division; Greater ­Dayton Regional Transit Authority, Dayton, OH; and Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority.

TSA developed the BASE program to establish a security standard for individual system security programs and assess progress. This voluntary comprehensive review of public transit agency security programs focuses on multiple categories identified by the public transit community as fundamentals for a sound security program.

They include a review of topics such as an agency’s security plans, security training, drills/exercise programs, public outreach efforts, and background check programs. The BASE program analyzes the security program for each transit system and identifies opportunities to further enhance security.

These agencies were reviewed in 2012 and attained high scores across all categories.

TSA continues to work with public transit agencies across the country to develop and implement robust security practices system-wide.