In Big Apple and beyond, security alters commuter life

In April, Congress agreed to spend $250 million on mass-transit security, only half of which has been delivered. Last week, the Senate voted down an appropriation to a Homeland Security bill that would have given an additional $1.6 billion for mass-transit security. "We were kind of surprised we didn't get the money," says Sen. Charles Schumer (D) of New York, one of the sponsors. "Now we're asking for a revote before we go to recess."

According to Mr. Schumer, it's not just the amount of money, but the restrictions placed on federal dollars. Currently, he says, federal funds can only be spent on technology and training. He believes it should be available for things city transit agencies need, such as dogs and police overtime. After 9/11, New York's Metropolitan Transit Authority was given $600 million to increase security. Only a fraction of it has been spent, in part because officials say the kind of sophisticated explosives detection needed to protect urban buses and subways hasn't been developed yet.

But others say they could have used the money to install a comprehensive surveillance system, similar to London's. "It's fairly shocking that the MTA has $600 million for security and still doesn't have closed-circuit TV's for surveillance," says Michael Greenberger, a homeland security expert at the University of Maryland in Baltimore.

Mr. Greenberger is critical of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for not doing more to encourage other technology development as well. No appropriate explosive-detection devices exist that could be used in a place like Grand Central Terminal, he says. And the technology that does exist to warn of chemical or biological agents is primitive.

Last week, in announcing what was effectively a mid-course correction for DHS, Secretary Michael Chertoff cited the need to use DHS's money and muscle to more aggressively develop technology. He noted that Congress passed a law three years ago that gave special protections against frivolous lawsuits to companies that are developing innovative security technologies - and more can be done to take advantage of it.

Until that technology is developed, many agencies will have to rely on old-fashioned police work. After the first London bombing, the Utah Transit Authority began random bag searches and questioning "suspicious-looking" individuals. "If someone is wearing baggy, out-of-season clothing or carrying heavy luggage, they are questioned," says Justin Jones, an agency spokesman. "Or if they are fidgety or their eyes are darting around, we ask to inspect their bags."

So far, the authority has found no terrorists. But it did question someone carrying a paintball gun. "They were pulled off, but they weren't upset and didn't realize it was alarming to the passengers," says Mr. Jones.

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