Local buses could soon be updated with on-board security cameras
that will continuously record while the vehicles are in motion, an
improvement from the manually-triggered cameras now in use.
Local buses could soon be updated with on-board security cameras that will continuously record while the vehicles are in motion, an improvement from the manually-triggered cameras now in use.
The Local Transportation Authority this week was scheduled to release a request for proposals to add security systems on as many vehicles as the approximately $54,000 in grant funding can accommodate.
County Express vehicles are already equipped with cameras provided by the contractor, MV Transportation, but those devices only record 10 seconds before and 10 seconds after an event after the camera’s recording system is triggered either when the bus is jarred, as in an accident or when hitting a large bump, or manually by a driver.
During the investigation of incidents, county staff noticed that continuous recording would have been beneficial in the investigation of incidents, 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 said. “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.”
The amount of vehicles outfitted with the security camera system, which will include continuous recording to an on-board DVR, will depend on how much the selected bidder can stretch the available grant money. The Local Transportation Authority, which administers and operates public transportation services in San Benito County, is calling this round of funding Phase 1, as it hopes to eventually outfit the entire fleet of more than 20 vehicles with the security cameras.
“These cameras will be on all the time, so we can see something happen from beginning to end,” LiOwen said, noting that such systems are common in other public transportation systems.
The first round of vehicles being outfitted is expected to be the smaller vehicles, such as Dial-A-Ride buses with 12 seats. The larger buses, with more than 20 seats, may receive the security cameras during a later funding round, though that will depend on the responses from potential vendors.
“Most incidents that we’d want video of happen on the local runs in the smaller vehicles,” LiOwen said.
Responses to the LTA’s request for proposals are due back Oct. 11, with installation of the video camera systems beginning some time after the new year.
