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Stepping up security on the transport network of Greater Lyon

Posted: 7 December 2007 | Jacques Bajard, Security Advisor, Sytral | No comments yet

Greater Lyon ranks as the second largest metropolitan area of France, with 1.3 million inhabitants. It is the top transport network outside of Paris in terms of availability and multi-modal use, with four metro lines, three tramway lines, two cable car lines and 1104 buses. Indeed, 1,440,000 journeys are made daily.

Sytral, Syndicat mixte des transports pour le Rhône et l’agglomération lyonnaise (public transport authority of Rhône county and Greater Lyon), owns, finances and governs the entire urban transport system. Its budget was 708 million Euros in 2006. Sytral defines transportation policy, but the day-to-day operations are delegated for a six-year term to a transport corporation through a European-wide competitive bidding process. Keolis is the current operator until 31 December 2010.

Greater Lyon ranks as the second largest metropolitan area of France, with 1.3 million inhabitants. It is the top transport network outside of Paris in terms of availability and multi-modal use, with four metro lines, three tramway lines, two cable car lines and 1104 buses. Indeed, 1,440,000 journeys are made daily. Sytral, Syndicat mixte des transports pour le Rhône et l’agglomération lyonnaise (public transport authority of Rhône county and Greater Lyon), owns, finances and governs the entire urban transport system. Its budget was 708 million Euros in 2006. Sytral defines transportation policy, but the day-to-day operations are delegated for a six-year term to a transport corporation through a European-wide competitive bidding process. Keolis is the current operator until 31 December 2010.

Greater Lyon ranks as the second largest metropolitan area of France, with 1.3 million inhabitants. It is the top transport network outside of Paris in terms of availability and multi-modal use, with four metro lines, three tramway lines, two cable car lines and 1104 buses. Indeed, 1,440,000 journeys are made daily.

Sytral, Syndicat mixte des transports pour le Rhône et l’agglomération lyonnaise (public transport authority of Rhône county and Greater Lyon), owns, finances and governs the entire urban transport system. Its budget was 708 million Euros in 2006. Sytral defines transportation policy, but the day-to-day operations are delegated for a six-year term to a transport corporation through a European-wide competitive bidding process. Keolis is the current operator until 31 December 2010.

Sytral is responsible for the best practices with regards to service, fares, reliability, punctuality, accessibility and, last but not least, safety and security. This task is clearly conferred by the French law on the organisation of public transport. Given that transport authorities do not generally manage networks on their own, they must strive to ensure a secure environment by providing the operator with security systems, and creating strong incentives to handle security.

Operating versus security

Security is a fairly recent concern for transportation companies. Urban transport used to be relatively secure and no-one could have imagined such an increase in crime and threats on-board. The fact that the underground in Lyon had no access gates until 2006 is proof of the authorities’ confidence in the public sense of civic responsibility. A small emergency squad and enforcement agents were a sideline activity of the operating department. CCTV in the underground was considered as an operating auxiliary tool, essentially dedicated to monitoring traffic and the influx of commuters. The standard rule was wide focal length and low definition cameras that only recorded on request. Perfectly suited to its original use, it obviously fails to accurately address today’s security issues. Continuing violence, serious incidents and new global threats called for a strong reaction on the part of the transport authority.

A three-part plan was set up as soon as 2002:

  • Better co-ordination and sharing of security responsibility, through an official security contract signed by Sytral, Keolis-Lyon, the National Police, the Municipal Police, the state education system, and the prosecutor
  • Re-organisation of the operator’s internal security and enforcement teams and a new scheme for dealing with offenders and fare-dodgers
  • Upgrading existing devices and building new security tools with a review of the current CCTV system to integrate security issues, and a six-year investment plan

The security contract

A French state decree of 7 July 2002 encourages public transporters and local state and municipal authorities to sign security contracts.

It consists of a mutual pledge to maintain or restore security, by pooling skills for gathering and analysing information, setting up joint patrols, considering the network security as a top priority and reacting quickly.

Such an agreement was formally signed on 22 November 2002 in Lyon.

  • SYTRAL undertakes to build an access control system in the underground; a central security command centre, to update and develop CCTV, and to finance CCTV transmission to police headquarters
  • Keolis-Lyon promises to deploy more human resources for prevention, and to step up support to the victims
  • The state authority promises to reinforce the role of the national police and to create a police group dedicated to public transport
  • The prosecutor agrees to process cases quickly and vigorously, and to explain his decisions, as required
  • The superintendent of schools organises courses, in co-operation with public transport representatives, with a view to preventing assaults on drivers and bus stoning by youngsters

In order to follow-up on security measures and to make operational decisions, the Network Security Observatory, (made-up of the signatories’ representatives), holds monthly sessions. A report based on data gathered and processed by all participants is reviewed at each session, pinpointing significant events and trends in crime and disturbances. Short and medium-term decisions are made to handle recurrent concerns, such as bus stoning, vandalism, thefts, assaults, and unattended luggage alerts. Every month, efficiency and results are reviewed. Municipalities can be requested to alter the lay-out of un-secure places where attacks occur or stones are launched along the bus routes, or to increase lighting in dark areas.

Once a year, an activity report is presented to the head committee of the signatories, which assesses, validates and sets general guidelines for the coming year. One of the strengths of this contract is the unique opportunity to bring together all of the people involved in security, so that suspicion and mis-understandings can be avoided, and to develop a real team spirit.

The transport authority specifications for managing security

Before the end of the previous six-year contract with the operator on 31 December 2004, Sytral decided to base the new call for tender on a series of new specifications. Transparency was the key theme, as well as resources and results. According to the specifications, the contractor is to report to Sytral weekly, monthly, quarterly and yearly, depending on the issue, and he may be asked to report on any subject at any time.

As for security, fundamental changes were made:

  • Establishment of a security department, independent from the operations department, reporting to the operator’s General Director
  • Merging of the fare inspection department and the security department

Sytral considers that fare-dodging is mostly related to offences and violence. Fare enforcement staff on-board trains and buses are frequently faced with threats and assault by people without tickets. Therefore, it is our duty to have them trained to handle incidents and attacks, in order to protect themselves and the drivers. From this point of view, there is no reason to continue two different teams. Moreover, merging the two allows a greater diversity of staff and can improve efficiency. The operating principle is as follows:

  • The various teams deployed across the network check the fares
  • Should a driver send a call for help, the security command centre dispatches the nearest team to handle the event with a police back-up if needed

Reports and surveys

The operator delivers daily reports on events and activities, weekly summaries pointing out the main trends in security matters, and monthly detailed studies on crime and unlawful behaviour. A yearly report encompasses all subjects linked to security in the network and a survey of technical equipment, especially the CCTV system, its output, failures, and how to improve it. All changes regarding organisation and functioning must be reported as well.

Demand for results

Through the implementation of this new set-up, the transport authority expects significant improvements in network security. Knowing that fighting crime is not entirely in the operator’s hands, Sytral does not set a precise target for the crime rate. On the other hand, the operator is fully accountable for the processing of emergency calls. Subsequently, security teams must arrive on the scene within 13 minutes after a call for help, (three minutes for call processing, and ten minutes to arrive on the scene). The average rate of fare-dodging was 18 per cent in 2004 for the entire network. The new contract stipulates that it cannot be higher than 8 per cent over the next three years. Should these requirements not be met, Sytral may apply penalties up to 300,000 Euros.

A consistent security scheme – the leading role of CCTV

Complying with security specifications is no easy task. Therefore, the equipment must fully play its role:

  • Access gates to the underground now exist in 41 of the 42 metro stations, and they are a precious tool in combating unlawful behaviour and fare-dodging
  • The central security command centre has been working since June 2006; it is the decisive element for co-ordinating prevention and intervention. Shifts cover it 24 hours a day, monitor the 12 network depots, and are permanently connected to the police headquarters
  • Buses, tramways and security teams on duty can be located at any time by a GPS

But everyone knows that such modern devices cannot do much without the eyes of cameras. Before further expanding the CCTV system, Sytral had to answer some important questions:

  • What is at stake?
  • What are the limits of our current system?
  • Above all, what about operating the systems?

The challenge is to handle network operations and at the same time to safeguard transport users through an integrated system. The demand for security is partly fulfilled by Lyon’s current CCTV network system. Camera recording has to be more widespread in the underground and on tramways, high definition cameras should be installed in the main crossways, and accurate monitoring of groups or persons throughout the underground stations must be made possible.

A first step was taken with the installation of a pilot system in the Part-Dieu station and which is likely to be duplicated in the remaining stations. The correct operation of a CCTV system is an issue that cannot be ignored. Indeed, what is the use of thousands of cameras if it is not possible to exploit the information? A multitude of monitoring screens cannot be managed at random and an agent cannot cope efficiently with more than four cameras. In some cases, (such as breaks-ins), today’s technology is reliable. But spotting people according to their behaviour is not yet up to scratch.

Another concern is picking out images. The police and courts increasingly requisition excerpts of recordings as evidence. If we cannot find a way in the near future to transmit images via centralised data carriers, the security staff will be overloaded trying to retrieve recordings from tramways and buses.

All buses and tramways have cameras on board. Sytral is planning to install cameras and recorders on board the metro trains, starting with the driverless line D. However, is a plaintiff’s memory accurate enough to remember at what time and in which carriage he was mugged; knowing that a continuous stream of trains passes every two minutes, with four cameras on board each carriage? The decision should be delayed until a reliable detection device has been designed. Several metro networks in Europe are equipped with on-board video transmission systems such as Madrid, Turin, and Nuremberg and they seem to be technically well designed.

This is why Sytral’s investments will focus on priority projects, aimed first at closing loopholes, before considering complementary systems:

  • Widespread recording
  • Centralised record transmission from bus and tramway video systems
  • Real time vandalism detection on underground station access gates
  • System for identification and monitoring of individuals in metro stations
  • Total video cover of tramway stations, multimodal complexes, car parks

Planning for the future

  • To prepare for on-board CCTV in metro trains, wiring will be installed in carriages at the time of a forthcoming overhaul
  • Frequent unattended luggage alerts continue to disturb the network. Stationary devices should be set up once fully reliable

On the right track

So where do we stand today? Implementing the new organisation created a great deal of technical and human difficulties due to deeply ingrained habits. Nonetheless, the choice proved efficient and successful. In addition, all commitments made in the security contract have been fulfilled.

Achievements

Thanks to the new organisation, 231 security agents cover the entire network in teams of four, in the underground or on-board vehicles. On week days, 33 teams circulate, and there are 18 on weekends, compared to 12 and 8 as before. The average intervention time of seven minutes is six minutes better than the contract specifications. In January 2006, 100 urban transport police agents were assigned to the underground network. Since 1 January 2007, they have arrested 1,650 offenders. Violence and threats against passengers have decreased by 49.7 per cent, and by 23.7 per cent against staff. Sick leave resulting from violence against the staff decreased by 42.9 per cent in 2006 and the trend continues in 2007. Fare dodging rates have fallen from 15 per cent to 6.7 per cent in the underground, from 18 per cent to 15.2 per cent in buses, and from 20 per cent to 12.7 per cent in tramways (overall network rates from 18 per cent to 11 per cent). This represents a 12 million Euro increase in revenue.

Efforts to be continued

The Security Department of the operating company has done a great job and met most requirements of the transport authority. But improvement is still required in some areas. The stoning of buses and tramways in troubled neighbourhoods (879 incidents in 2006) and vandalism (costing 2,520,000 Euros in 2006) are the main concerns. Although a car-bomb exploded 12 years ago in a Jewish district of Lyons, the network has never experienced a terrorist attack. But counter-terrorism measures, in the framework of the national Vigipirate plan, are currently being applied to the network and Sytral, as a transport authority, is making a series of investments to protect people, rolling stock and infrastructures from terrorism. At the same time, because Sytral is responsible for the management of public funds – and the budget is not open-ended – it must demonstrate a return on investments.

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