The Transportation Security Administration recognized the Indianapolis Public Transportation Corporation, IndyGo, today as one of 17 rail and mass transit agencies from across the nation that earned TSA’s highest rating of “Gold Standard” on the most recent Baseline Assessment for Security Enhancement (BASE) for its dedication to building a strong security program.
The head of TSA, Administrator John Pistole, traveled from Washington D.C. to present the award in person to Mike Terry, president and CEO of IndyGo. Danny Crenshaw, chairperson of the IndyGo board of directors, moderated the event.
“It’s an honor to have been presented this award in person by TSA Administrator Pistole,” said Danny Crenshaw, IndyGo board chairperson. “The high level of performance from the IndyGo team continues to get noticed on a national scale.”
The BASE review is designed to establish a security standard for individual system security programs and assess progress. This voluntary comprehensive review of transit agency security programs focuses on multiple categories identified by the transit community as fundamentals for a sound transit security program. They include a review of topics such as an agency’s security plans, security training, drill programs, public outreach efforts and background check programs. The BASE assessment analyzes the security program for each transit system and identifies vulnerabilities that are addressed.
“I am proud of our staff, especially the Safety, Training and Security Department, for going above and beyond to achieve such a high honor for our organization,” said Mike Terry, president andCEO of IndyGo. “IndyGo strives to keep our safety program above compliance and exceed expectations, which is exactly what we’ve accomplished here today.”
The BASE program was developed to increase domain awareness, enhance prevention and protection capabilities and further response preparedness of transit systems nationwide. BASE is aimed at meeting the requirements in the 9/11 Commission Act’s security assessment section, which directs TSA to identify critical assets, infrastructure and systems and their vulnerabilities and assist bus and public transportation authorities to address their security programs.
“I commend IndyGo for their continued dedication to transit security,” said TSA Administrator John S. Pistole. “TSA is pleased to recognize each individual ‘Gold Standard’ winner for their ongoing commitment to ensure the safety and security of their customers.”
IndyGo’s BASE program was reviewed in 2011 and attained high scores across all categories. TSA considers this caliber of performance as reaching a “Gold Standard” and recognizes this agency for having a strong security program. TSA continues to work with all transit agencies across the country to develop and implement robust security practices system-wide.
