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TopBackground
Before 9/11, transportation security is mostly the responsibility of airlines, railroads, subway systems, and other mass transit systems (Waugh, 2004). These public transport providers can be generally referred to as the “carrier” in transportation security management as they take charge of both the facilities (e.g. air/seaports, railway/bus stations) and the vehicles (e.g. airplanes, ships, trains, buses) of different transportation modes. After 9/11, the government intervened much more extensively. For instance, the Transportation Security Administration took over a significant proportion of security responsibilities, such as passenger and baggage screening, from the carrier side (Frederickson & LaPorte, 2002). The government also supports the carrier to enhance transportation security in form of federal grants through agencies such as Federal Aviation Administration (GAO, 2007; Moynihan & Roberts, 2003). The “government” here in transportation security management, in a broader sense, includes federal and state agencies at different levels and their connections with foreign governments and international organizations.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Security Control: Reactive measure to detect and counteract terrorist efforts inside transportation systems.
Security Assessment: Proactive measure to identify and nullify potential security breaches and threats before the terrorists invade transportation systems.
Information Portal Strategy: The reengineering of transportation security management with the use of an information portal that allows all stakeholders to share information and coordinate effort.
Transportation Security Management: The concerted effort to prevent terrorist attacks on, reduce the vulnerability of, minimize the damage and recover from attacks that do occur to transportation systems.
Transportation Security Stakeholders: Groups of people with legitimate interests in transportation security, including government, carrier and public who are likely to be directly affected by terrorist attacks on transportation systems and can contribute to the counteracting effort.
Transport Carriers: Providers that take charge of both the facilities (e.g. air/seaports, railway/bus stations) and the vehicles (e.g. airplanes, ships, trains, buses) of different transportation modes.
Security Communication: The sharing of information about the threats, efforts and consequences of attacks on transportation systems.