Op-Ed: AI is helping transit leaders amp up security

Transit agencies are dealing with a more difficult operating environment than at any point in the past decade. Fare evasion remains widespread while safety incidents in major cities have reached levels that are starting to impact funding and public confidence. 

Technology has long played a role in helping agencies respond to these challenges. And now, artificial intelligence (AI) is helping transit leaders enhance their safety and security posture in new and impactful ways. 

HALOS recently worked with a global advisory partner to survey security and operations leaders in order to better understand how they plan to use—or are already using—AI to enhance their existing security toolkit. Respondents made it clear they view AI as a powerful means for addressing some of their most pressing business challenges. Specific to security, those include improving operational efficiency, accelerating emergency response, strengthening incident reporting and enabling more proactive safety management.  

Here's what that looks like in practice.  

Turning video into operational intelligence 

Transit agencies generate enormous amounts of video and audio data on a daily basis, from station cameras to onboard vehicle systems to body-worn cameras. Security teams are drowning in video feeds and alarms with a more than 98% false alarm rate, according to an article from the Security Industry Association.  

AI makes it possible to analyze and interpret footage automatically, instead of requiring personnel to manually review hours of video. It can flag unusual behaviors, identify potential safety risks or surface relevant clips in a matter of seconds. 

AI can also help connect the dots across multiple sources of information. Video from fixed cameras, footage from bodycams and operational data from dispatch systems can all be analyzed together, creating a more cohesive picture of what's happening across the network. 

Faster, more informed emergency response 

Emergency response is another area where transit leaders see potential for AI to improve operations. In the aforementioned research, respondents commonly pointed to AI’s ability to reduce the time it takes to understand and react to an unfolding incident. When frontline personnel are equipped with connected systems, supervisors can gain real-time awareness of events as they happen.  

AI can further assist by automatically tagging key moments, identifying escalating behavior or prioritizing alerts that require immediate attention. Historically, staff in these scenarios would rely on radio communication. Now, teams can access visual footage that allows for better decision making under pressure.  

This is especially critical in mass transit settings where incidents can escalate quickly and involve large numbers of passengers—think a crowded train station during rush hour. Faster access to reliable information enables agencies to coordinate their response more effectively and efficiently. Ultimately, this helps keep employees and passengers safer. 

Improving documentation and accountability 

Incident reporting is typically a time-consuming, cumbersome process that requires officers or supervisors to compile written reports, review video evidence and ensure documentation is complete. 

AI can streamline a big portion of this work. Some tools can automatically generate incident summaries based on video, audio and other data sources. Rather than starting from scratch, personnel can review and refine these summaries, significantly reducing the administrative burden associated with reporting. 

Beyond time savings, this also significantly improves consistency. When incidents are documented more thoroughly and more quickly, agencies gather better data about what's happening across their systems. That information can be used to identify trends, allocate resources and improve training. 

Transparency and accountability are increasingly important for public agencies as incivility in transit settings rises. Better documentation helps build trust with riders, employees and the communities in which transit systems operate.  

Enabling proactive safety and better planning 

AI has the potential to help agencies shift from reactive to proactive approaches to safety. While security strategies have historically focused on reporting incidents after the fact, AI-driven analytics helps identify patterns and warning signs before an incident occurs—including those that may otherwise go unnoticed. 

For example, say a certain route or station has a higher rate of disruptive passenger behavior. Agencies can use AI to analyze the data to determine why that's the case and deploy targeted solutions. If it comes to light that incidents are happening at a certain time, for example, leadership can adjust staffing or operational policies as needed.  

Over time, these insights can inform broader strategies around workforce safety and the overall rider experience. 

Supporting frontline teams 

AI is not a replacement for people. Transit systems depend on frontline staff to operate safely and effectively. What AI does is improve how those teams work. It reduces manual tasks, improves access to information and provides better visibility in high-pressure situations. 

The result is a more efficient operation and a safer environment for both employees and passengers. Transit systems are becoming more complex, not less. Maintaining safety at scale will require better use of data and faster decision-making. AI is quickly becoming a core part of that shift.