http://ipraudio.interlochen.org/BATA_WEB.mp3
When security cameras were put on public buses in Traverse City a few years ago people didn't take much notice, or if they did they figured it was a good thing. But now it turns out that surveillance on the buses includes taping private conversations and that's drawing some concern and criticism.
Taping Conversations
A recent issue of Wired magazine named seven cities across the U.S. that are putting audio and video recording devices on public buses, or considering it. Traverse City is one of the cities listed in the article.
The Bay Area Transportation Authority, BATA, first began installing surveillance three years ago, using federal highway grants. Operations Director Kelly Yaroch says the reason is to sort out what really happens during disputes on the bus.
"We have the customer's perspective of what happened and we have the driver's perspective of what happened and usually the truth is somewhere in the middle," she says.
Yaroch says BATA uses the video to train drivers to handle conflicts in a better way and, rather than complaining, she says riders are glad the cameras are there.
Is Video Enough?
Passenger Jim Lively says he doesn't mind the cameras, but he didn't know his conversations are being recorded. He rides the bus from Empire to Traverse City several days a week. He also works on transportation issues for the Michigan Land Use Institute and attends meetings and talks with BATA staff pretty regularly.
Lively thinks video alone ought to be enough to document arguments or unruly behavior.
"I think the audio, especially if it's audio to capture a passenger conversation, I thinks that going over the top," he says. "Yeah, that would bother me."
A Call For Public Discussion
An attorney who specializes in civil rights cases says the use of video in public places is pretty much a fact of everyday life. But Blake Ringsmuth also didn't realize surveillance equipment on the bus is taping private conversations.
"Wow. That's a surprise," says Ringsmuth. "And it's a surprise that it has not been discussed publicly."
He says the practice raises some serious questions.
"Who's listening to them and under what circumstances? And is there policy as to when those conversations can be accessed and listened to?" he asks.
BATA: Policies In Place
BATA says the tapes are only used if there's an incident and the transit agency says it has an agreement with the Michigan State Police to share recordings in the case of an accident.
Kelly Yarrow says the recorded material is stored on the machine for up to a month, and if there's no reason to access the tape it's recorded over.
BATA does have a written policy that spells out who has access and under what circumstances and Yaroch says the tapes aren't used to eavesdrop.
"That's never been done," Yaroch says. "We've never pulled a tape to listen to a conversation between two passengers."
Expectation Of Privacy?
But attorney Blake Ringsmuth says people have an expectation of privacy even on a public bus, especially if neither party is aware that they're being recorded. And he says he gets a little frustrated with the response that if I have nothing to hide then why should I care?
"Because we have a constitution that protects us from our government, which makes this country stand head and shoulders above so many others," he says. "It's that protection from our government that makes us great."
BATA says it placed stickers notifying passengers of the recordings at the front of the bus above the driver.
Jim Lively hasn't noticed them: "I've sat on there long enough where I thought I've read every sign and I don't remember reading one. So maybe I just missed it."
Lively says he's going to talk with BATA about making the signs more visible so passengers can choose to ignore them or modify their conversations or not ride the bus.