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Omnitrans Transports Evacuees in Wake of San Bernardino Shooting
In the aftermath of the Dec. 2 terrorist attack in San Bernardino, CA, where 14 people were killed and more injured, Omnitrans buses helped evacuate more than 460 people from the scene of the incident.
The County of San Bernardino Emergency Operations Center (EOC) called on Omnitrans to help transport people from the Inland Regional Center and surrounding businesses after the shooting. Using three 40-foot and one 60-foot vehicles, the agency initially took people to a local church where they could be interviewed by local law enforcement. Later the evacuees were transported to a community center where they reunited with family and friends. Two law enforcement officers accompanied each bus.
“We played a limited but important role in assisting our first responders during this tragic event,” said Omnitrans Chief Executive Officer P. Scott Graham.
As part of the county emergency communication network, Omnitrans security staff were notified of the active shooter situation at the Inland Regional Center within minutes of initial 911 calls. The agency detoured bus service to the immediate area while working to maintain as much regularly scheduled service as possible.
“We do not shut down service and leave passengers stranded on the street,” said Graham. “We adjust, adapt and provide whatever service is possible as conditions permit until normal operations can resume.”
Omnitrans defers to the county EOC regarding service it can provide relative to an emergency. The agency works to keep as much of its regular service running on schedule as possible during an emergency situation, pulling buses from the routes with highest frequency if they are needed.
Coach operators and other employees were notified of the emergency situation; security guards at the San Bernardino Transit Center and Omnitrans headquarters in San Bernardino were placed on heightened alert, but both facilities remained open to the public.
APTA’s Standards Program includes several standards that support this kind of emergency response, available at www.apta.com/resources/standards/security. These include standards regarding emergency management aspects of special event service, transit incident drills and exercises, mutual aid programs and initiatives public transit agencies can implement to reduce the likelihood of an attack from occurring. Additional guidance is available through the Public Transportation Information Sharing and Analysis Center (PT-ISAC).
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Omnitrans buses line up at a staging area to transport evacuees after the terrorist attack in San Bernardino.
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