Benefits and Costs

• SouthEastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) equipped four of its buses with a surveillance and monitoring system using digital video. This resulted in a 32 percent reduction in claims and a $15 million decrease in annual payouts.
• All Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) stations have at least eight strategically placed CCTV cameras performing constant surveillance, which has led to a decrease in crime rates.
• Other benefits include reductions in fare evasion and assaults on transit-agency property. Transit users report feeling safer with the presence of security cameras in stations.

Security images often are transmitted back to security command centers such as the one pictured above.

Price
Onboard security packages that include multiple CCTV cameras, digital video recorders, silent alarms, and covert microphones, now range from $5000 to $10,000 per vehicle. External CCTV cameras cost more to install due to pole installation costs and the need to reinforce the equipment from the elements. Security systems reported full deployment costs ranging from $10,000 for a single black and white CCTV camera installation to over $5 million for an advanced bus surveillance system utilizing wireless technology for live video transmission to an operations/security center. The median security system deployment cost falls between $300,000 and $400,000 per agency.

• Stand-alone cameras may not be as cost-effective as cameras integrated into a larger security system.
• Integrating a security system with other technology could prove expensive.

Operations and Maintenance (O&M)
O&M costs for the various security components are generally running up to 5% of the original capital cost.

• Staffing needs for monitoring the CCTV camera feeds may increase
• On-site security personnel needs may be reduced.
• Additional storage equipment must be purchased to archive data.

Training
Incorporate security technologies into ongoing security training for select transit agency personnel.