On Dec. 18, California Homeland Security Director Matthew Bettenhausen delivered a check to Golden Empire Transit officials as the first installment toward improving mass transit security around the state.
The check, worth $41,000, was funded by voter-approved Prop 1B, a measure which Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger championed to improve infrastructure, security and public safety.
Gina Hayden, director of marketing for GET, said that they have already decided what to do with the money.
At the transit station downtown and at Valley Plaza, there have been issues about the security of passengers, from drug dealing to gang activity, according to Hayden. Thus, they will be using the money for installing cameras to help curtail unwanted activity.
Hayden went on to say that they are currently campaigning for more people to ride the bus by improving the amount of time one has to wait for a bus and by increasing seats at the transit stops.
Dwayne Mitchell, 52, with a major in business management, thinks that it’s a good idea to get the cameras. He was also aware that they had audio/video camera on the buses and said that now he feels safe on the buses right now.
“The threat to the transit systems is one of the most fundamental challenges for us all,” said Bettenhausen.
GET Board Chair Chuck Michel accepted the check. He said, “These funds will help GET confront the challenges of keeping our residents and riders safe.”
Jillian Rochi, 18, a BC student with an undeclared major, was not aware that they had cameras on the buses and said that the bus seemed pretty safe to her. When asked about the way that GET was going to use the funds, she went on to say that she thought it (cameras) was a good idea.
Michel added that GET would use the funds to improve security and crime fighting efforts at transit centers as well as on buses.
BC student Paul Guerrero, 27, a welding major, said that he was aware that the buses had cameras. He said that he believed that they worked. He said that he did feel safe on the bus because he believed that most people have respect for each other, and that the bus drivers try to ensure that all is well on their buses.
Guerrero also expressed his belief that adding the cameras to the transit stations would deter certain people from hanging around the property where he has witnessed the sale of drugs and the exchange of stolen property.
The governor’s Office of Homeland Security is charged with administering the Prop 1B funds. It’s part of California’s strategy to protect its 37 million residents from man-made or natural disasters.