Transit agencies seek federal guidance on counterterror technology

State and local transit agencies say they need more guidance from the federal government in acquiring counterterrorism technologies, according to a General Accounting Office report released Wednesday.

Officials from one agency, for example, told GAO that they have been "bombarded" by vendors selling security technologies since Sept. 11, 2001, but they have been unsure about the quality and usefulness of those products and whether they soon might be rendered obsolete.

In the report (GAO-03-263) Federal Transit Administration officials told GAO they are developing a secure Web site to share more security-related "best practices" with transit agencies. FTA also is funding a mass-transit information sharing and analysis center that will disseminate intelligence information to transit agencies.

GAO also noted that FTA's Office of Technology has requested about $4.2 million for safety and security technologies in fiscal 2003. That would be a 272 percent increase over fiscal 2002 spending of $1.1 million.