Security in urban transport

Urban transport is used by millions of passengers every day in big cities. It has a tremendous importance for both the lives of our citizens and the economy and will be crucial in the coming years for reducing congestion, matching mobility needs as well as reducing energy consumption and emissions.

The counterpart of this success is that urban public transport has become an easy target for terrorists. The number of attacks hitting public transport has risen in the last two decades. The recent attacks in Madrid and London have shown that they are almost impossible to prevent with present technology.

This increase in the number of acts of terrorism and the new types of possible attacks against which one should protect public transport, such as suicide-bombing and dirty bombs, will motivate all responsible companies and administrations to take measures to reinforce protection.

Protecting urban public transport is mainly a responsibility for member states, regional authorities in charge of police, and transport companies. However, security in a member state does not only depend on the measures it alone has implemented and its own threat level, but also to a certain extent on measures taken by other member states, as terrorists will seek easy targets. With a view to taking advantage of existing experiences and reducing vulnerabilities, the European Commission intends to support research and exchange of information on best practices, in particular in areas such as detection techniques for arms and explosives, video surveillance, and the recovery process following possible attacks.

Moreover, if the European Parliament and the Council adopt the future seventh research programme on security starting in 2007, as proposed by the European Commission, the European Commission will allocate important resources to develop or adapt necessary technologies which are today missing. Indeed, present technology does not permit security controls to be performed smoothly on the millions of passengers who are using public transport every day.

The advantages of public urban transport are its flexibility and accessibility, the numerous stops and intercommunions, and its relatively low cost. In order to preserve these assets, any measures taken should be duly justified with a thorough impact assessment. A progressive and differentiated approach, taking into account the risk intensity and local conditions seems, a priori, more suitable than general costly measures.

These are the main tracks which will be explored with stakeholders in the coming months. Contacts developed so far show that a strong will exists to share information, knowledge and expertise. The European Commission will capitalise on this to help operators and member states to develop sound and efficient measures in order to protect urban public transport.

Reference

The views expressed are purely those of the author and may not in any circumstances be regarded as stating an official position of the European Commission.