The city’s transit commission approved a plan on Wednesday that would see any new buses added to the OC Transpo fleet equipped with on-board video surveillance systems.
Still, retrofitting the existing fleet is too expensive, notes a city staff report to the commission. It would take six years and $16.3 million to outfit all OC Transpo buses with digital video cameras, which is why the report recommends that only buses acquired in the future should have the new systems.
Currently, there are no plans to buy new buses. But city staff is looking to find out if extra buses are needed to run detour routes during the five years it will take to construct the Confederation Line.
The report states that surveillance systems have a “modest impact” on crime prevention, even if studies also suggest that cameras don’t contribute “to a sense of increased safety and security.” Still, cameras make it easier to investigate criminal activity.
The preferred system configuration would allow transit law personnel to monitor live video and retrieve video remotely for investigation, instead of physically removing the hard drive from the camera systems.
“We are very strongly committed to providing a safe and reliable transit system to everyone,” said general manager of transit services John Manconi at the meeting.
Manconi couldn’t set a date when “new money” would be needed to implement the rollout. That will happen when new buses are purchased.
The commission ultimately carried the report. Still, some members voted to shoot down the recommendations. Commissioner Mark Johnson said that safety is the report’s primary concern, but he feels he will be “old and grey” by the time the fleet is equipped. “I am not comfortable with the time frame we’re looking at.”