The local transit agency turned down $54,000 in state funding
for a proposal to install continuously running surveillance cameras
on buses in San Benito County. The San Benito County Council of
Governments board of directors Thursday denied the resolution to
buy the cameras for $54,000 using funds from a California Transit
Security Grant.
The local transit agency turned down an idea to use $54,000 in state funding for a proposal to install continuously running surveillance cameras on buses in San Benito County.
The San Benito County Council of Governments board of directors Thursday denied the resolution to buy the cameras for $54,000 using funds from a California Transit Security Grant. COG board members Anthony Botelho, Jaime De La Cruz, Victor Gomez and Tony Boch opposed the measure, while Pauline Valdivia, sitting in as an alternate for Doug Emerson, supported it.
With an OK, the Local Transportation Authority had been scheduled to release a request for proposals to add security systems on as many vehicles as the $54,000 in grant funding would accommodate. County Express vehicles already are equipped with cameras provided by the contractor, MV Transportation, but they record just 10 seconds before and after an event once the recording systems are triggered – when the bus is jarred or manually by a driver.
But the decision by COG directors Thursday squashed the idea. Botelho, a county supervisor on the panel made up of elected officials from area governments, said the cameras “sounded like a lot of money,” even if those funds were coming from the state. He said he didn’t like the idea that the money had to be spent on such confined uses as the cameras.
“At some point, when does government start saying, why are we spending money this way?” Botelho said.
He thought the money would be better spent on such areas as road improvements, for which the funds can’t be used.
Boteho said he also has privacy issues with the cameras. He said if passengers are disruptive, drivers have the ability to record video and he added that most people carry cell phones with cameras as well.
“It seems like we have a lot of cameras in our lives,” he said.
Valdivia made the motion to approve the resolution, but a lacking second meant it died without an official vote.
She said the cameras would serve as a “safety precaution,” especially for the seniors and disabled residents she often sees as director of Jovenes de Antano in Hollister. Plus, she mentioned that the money “can’t be used for anything else.”
“The thing to me is, first of all, I see it as a safety issue,” Valdivia said. “I think that’s really important.”
The number of vehicles outfitted with the security camera system, which would have included continuous recording to an on-board DVR, would have depended on how much the selected bidder could stretch the available grant money. The LTA, which administers and operates public transportation services in San Benito County, was calling this round of funding Phase 1, as it hoped to eventually outfit the entire fleet of more than 20 vehicles with the security cameras.
The first round of vehicles being outfitted was expected to be the smaller ones, such as Dial-A-Ride buses with 12 seats. The larger buses, with more than 20 seats, could have received the security cameras during a later funding round.
Responses to the LTA’s request for proposals would have been due back Oct. 11, with installation of the video camera systems beginning some time after the new year.
During an examination of past incidents, county staff noticed that continuous recording would have been beneficial in the investigations of them, Transportation Planner Betty LiOwen said in a report.
“There have been times when incidents do occur on vehicles and the recording of 10 seconds before or after an incident is not enough,” she wrote. “It could be kids acting rowdy on a bus or people being disrespectful to other passengers or drivers. We want to make sure that we catch any bad stuff that does happen.”
