The Transportation Security Administration has presented its prestigious Baseline Assessment for Security Enhancement (BASE) Gold Standard Award to the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada for its ongoing efforts to provide a safe transit experience for more than 64 million annual boardings throughout the system.
The Gold Standard Award is the top recognition the TSA bestows to a transit agency for achieving the highest scores on its BASE review that evaluates 17 categories of security and emergency preparedness action items identified as fundamentals for a sound transit security program. Establishing a national standard for individual transit system security programs, the review includes topics such as an agency's security plan, security training, drills/exercise programs, public outreach efforts and background check programs.
The RTC is one of only three transit agencies nationwide – and the only one in the western United States – to be honored with the award out of more than 200 agencies evaluated in 2016.
This is the second time the RTC has received the TSA honor – a rare accomplishment on a national level. The RTC achieved a Gold Standard Award in 2011 and, as a result, the RTC was not reviewed again until 2016. During last year’s review, the RTC scored 99.8 percent out of 100 on its latest assessment, up from 97 percent five years ago.
“The RTC should be commended for being recognized at the national level for the commitment and hard work this level of achievement requires,” said Robert McGuire, regional transportation security inspector with TSA’s Surface Compliance Branch. “TSA looks forward to a continued partnership with the RTC and applauds its continued dedication to the security of its customers in Southern Nevada.”
“Ensuring the safety for an average 175,000 daily transit trips in a city that never sleeps is not only a top priority for the RTC but a monumental task,” said RTC Board Chairman and Clark County Commissioner Larry Brown. “I accept this great honor on behalf of all RTC employees and contractors who work day in and day out to ensure our passengers travel safely. In particular, I want to acknowledge the efforts of our safety and security team that is constantly looking for ways to improve.”
The TSA has oversight of 6,800 public transit agencies in the country. Every year, the TSA assesses a select number of transit agencies nationwide through the BASE program, and only a few achieve scores worthy of the Gold Standard Award.
