The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) announced the winners of the 2020 Bus and Rail Safety and Security Excellence Awards.

“Congratulations to the award-winning public transit systems for their successful safety and security transportation programs that are models of excellence for the industry,” said APTA President and CEO Paul P. Skoutelas. “The implementation of these initiatives demonstrates the ongoing commitment to improving safety and security for their passengers, employees, and communities in the public transit industry.”

The APTA Bus and Rail Safety and Security Excellence Awards recognize public transit providers for their innovative and proactive safety and security programs. It also provides value to the industry by benchmarking successful programs so other public transit systems can implement them and reap similar benefits.

Nominations are evaluated on four criteria: effectiveness, benefit level, innovation, and transferability. The top honor is the GOLD Award, which is given to organizations with the best overall safety or security programs. A Certificate of Merit is given to organizations in recognition of exceptional achievement in safety or security.

The 2020 Safety and Security Excellence Award winners are awarded in categories based on rail modes and bus ridership.

Rail Safety Excellence Awards:

Commuter/Intercity Rail

• GOLD Award for Safety — New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) – Long Island Railroad (LIRR), New York, N.Y.

• Certificate of Merit for Safety — New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority – Metro-North Railroad, New York, N.Y.

Light Rail/Streetcar

• GOLD Award for Safety — Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority (NFTA), Buffalo, N.Y.

Rail Security Excellence Awards:

Light Rail/Streetcar

• GOLD Award for Security — Sacramento Regional Transit (SacRT), Sacramento, Calif.

• Certificate of Merit for Security — Maryland Transit Administration (MTA)

Commuter/Intercity Rail

• GOLD Award for Security — The National Railroad Passenger Corporation (AMTRAK)

Bus Safety Excellence Awards:

Public transportation systems providing more than 4 million and fewer than 20 million annual passenger trips.

• GOLD Award for Safety — Palm Tran, Palm Beach County, Fla.

• Certificate of Merit for Safety — Pierce County Public Transit Benefit Area Corporation (Pierce Transit), Pierce County, Wash.

Public transportation systems providing more than 20 million annual passenger trips.

• GOLD Award for Safety — Capital Metropolitan Transportation (Cap Metro), Austin, Tx.

Bus Security Excellence Awards:

Public transportation systems providing more than 4 million and fewer than 20 million annual passenger trips.

• GOLD Award for Security — Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority (SORTA), Cincinnati, Ohio

• Certificate of Merit for Security — Metro Regional Transit Authority (Metro RTA), Akron, Ohio

To view the descriptions of the winning programs, click here.