LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – Regional Transportation Commission security officials are providing an update on bus safety after a stretch of violent incidents prompted the agency to add several new security measures over the summer.
This summer, the RTC switched security contractors to Inter-Con and added dozens of armed officers.
They issued all drivers panic buttons to use if they’re confronted while off their buses, which have been used by drivers ten times already this summer.
RTC also added AI firearm detecting cameras at its facilities, which have detected two firearms so far.
The agency’s Director of Safety and Security Tom Atteberry says one of the firearms was fake and the other was an air gun, but the detection still proves the technology works.
From July 1 to Oct. 9, Atteberry says they had about 18 passenger-on-passenger physical assaults, and four passenger-on-driver physical assaults.
Atteberry says “one assault is too many,” but compared to data from the last couple of years, these numbers appear to be trending down.
In fiscal year 2024 there were 99 passenger-on-passenger physical assaults and 26 passenger-on-driver physical assaults.
“People who ride the buses every day, they expect to have an efficient and fair ride. So, we owe that to them to make sure it’s safe,” he says.
Next, the agency plans to build stronger enclosures for drivers, stretching all the way to the windshield, so drivers are separated from riders and nobody can reach around and hit them.
You can watch Atteberry’s full presentation to the RTC Board of Commissioners here.
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