Study urges greater mass transit role in evacuation plans

More planning at local levels and greater guidance from the federal government is needed to ensure that public transit systems will be effective in helping to evacuate residents of large urban areas during disasters, according to a congressionally mandated study released Tuesday.

The study, conducted by the National Research Council, makes a series of recommendations to improve the role mass transit systems can play in disaster preparedness and response, especially for people without cars or those with special needs.

"Historically, the United States has built its highways with national defense in mind. Likewise we have invested in America's aviation system to withstand security threats," said Rep. Bill Pascrell, D-N.J., who sponsored language in the 2005 federal highway bill requiring the study. "Now we must see to it that mass transportation is part of the planning process to move people safely in critical times and places, like out of New York City on 9/11, or out of harm's way before Hurricane Katrina," he added.

The study does not rank which cities around the country have done the best or worst jobs incorporating mass transit operations into their emergency management plans. Officials on the panel that produced the study say they were constrained from doing that kind of an in-depth analysis by their $500,000 budget.

The study's top recommendation is that local emergency managers should give more attention to planning for evacuations and determine the role public transportation will serve in meeting evacuation needs.

The Homeland Security and Transportation departments should also provide more guidance to state and local governments on regional evacuation planning, the report recommends. "Few urban areas have planned for a major disaster that could involve multiple jurisdictions or multiple states in a region and necessitate an evacuation of a large fraction of the population," said Richard White, chairman of the NRC committee that did the study.

The likelihood of evacuating major portions of large, congested urban areas is also questionable, according to the report. "Leadership is lacking because no one jurisdiction owns the problem," added White, who previously led the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area Transit Administration.

Federal funding should be provided to help cities develop regional evacuation plans, and grant recipients should be required to report on their progress, the report adds.

Meeting the needs of people without cars or those with special needs, such as the disabled and poor, is especially important, White said. "It really is an Achilles' heel in local emergency plans and response capabilities," he said.

The study also recommends that emergency operations centers of transit agencies should have compatible voice and data communications systems with emergency management agencies. They should be included in making decisions, participate in exercises, and develop effective ways to communicate with passengers in advance of and during an emergency, the study adds.

Additionally, Congress should authorize the Federal Transit Administration and the Federal Highway Administration to pay for evacuation-related projects that build or maintain back-up systems and capabilities, the report states.