Surveillance cameras could be placed on up to 15 Madison Metro buses if a proposal before the City Council passes this Tuesday.
City alders, bus drivers and the Madison Police Department are pushing for video coverage of problem routes in response to a series of recent violent incidents on Madison's primary public transportation system.
"This is not anything new," Ald. Noel Radomski, District 19, said, adding that calls for increased security on the bus system come in cycles. "It's been a few years, and now it's flaring up."
Public attention has been brought to the issue by several high-profile incidents at bus transfer points and on the buses themselves. Last November, a middle-school student shot a fellow student with a BB gun on a route serving students.
More recently, police responded to a fight at the West Transfer Point involving 20 to 30 youths. One of the more memorable was a 1998 incident in which a man poured five gallons of gasoline on bus passengers and set them ablaze.
The cameras would serve not only as a means of identifying those who commit crimes but would also have a deterrent effect, according to Ann Gullickson, assistant general manager of Madison Metro.
"We've been looking at a variety of ways of boosting our security program," she said, adding that one of the pieces of the overall security plan is seeing if the city can get surveillance equipment on some of the buses.
According to Gullickson, surveillance would be concentrated on problem routes, with up to four cameras per bus. These buses would be used in locations that have a history of violence or vandalism, primarily student routes.
"Some people think it will serve as a deterrent. In other cases it won't. But at least we'll have evidence," Radomski said, stressing the Madison Metro system is safe. "It tends to be on specific routes. It's not systemic."
The call for video surveillance came first from the bus drivers, noted Ald. Ken Golden, District 10.
"Bus drivers have been fabulous, but it's not the job of the bus drivers to break up fights," Radomski said. "Madison Metro drivers are not deputized to arrest someone."
When violence occurs on a city bus, drivers are equipped to call the police, but response time may not be sufficient to detain suspects or prevent injury.
And proponents of the proposal hope it will receive the support of council members.
"This is a public-safety issue," Radomski said. "If the alders elect to vote against this, they're voting against safety for the bus riders."
But opponents say government video surveillance may infringe on privacy rights.
"I would like to know more about Madison Metro's plans for storing old footage and what they plan to do to safeguard the public's right to privacy," said Julie Schmoldt, a local privacy advocate.
If the proposal passes, cameras could be installed as soon as April, with a proposal to cover transfer stations following shortly.