Washington subway system considering bag searches: officials

[KamaAina]

Here it comes. The end of public transportation as we know it. Get off the silly Metro (what is this, Europe?) and get in you car like a real American, 'cause goodness knows the terrorists would never, ever make a bomb out of a car. :sarcasm:

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20050718/pl_afp/usbritainattacks_050718210219

WASHINGTON (AFP) - US security chiefs are mulling the introduction of random bag searches at subways as they probe possible new anti-terror precautions in the wake of the London bomb attacks, transportation officials said....

Bag searches are "still in the concept phase, we are still looking at it to see if it is something we would do," said Metro spokesman Steven Taubenkibel....

Even sporadic bag searches would be a huge task on the Washington system, which has 86 stations and more than 900 rail cars, and is the second largest city rail transit system in the United States.

A recent CNN/Gallup poll conducted after the London attacks suggested that two-thirds of Americans would favor requiring passengers to go through a metal detector before boarding a train, bus or subway system.

Then again, two-thirds of Americans (more like 90% in the red states) never board a train, bus or subway system, so what's it to them?

Has anybody checked out the security lines at Dulles lately? Multiply this by 86 Metro stations, with lines snaking out the door... into the humidity... or the sleet...

Disclaimer: I am considering applying for a fellowship which would have me living in DC for a year (and, obviously, riding Metro). Now I'm wondering if I should look in someplace more sane and reasonable... like London.

[jilln]

1. I bet most of those favoring it

didn't realize that it wouldn't just be passing through a metal detector, it would be stopping, taking your shoes off, opening up your computer or camera or certain types of candy that have the same consistency as bombs (this has happened to me) etc. Once it takes 10 minutes to get through the metal detector at rush hour, they've just added another subway train to deal with the backup.