Joseph Clapp, the new administrator for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), is seeking to improve security aboard buses in the aftermath of last month’s terrorist attacks. Clapp told a Senate Commerce subcommittee that the FMCSA was meeting with the bus industry to discuss security checks of passengers and luggage. This is a problem Clapp said, as many passengers do not board buses at central terminals, like an airport or train station. Speaking before the Senate, Peter Pantuso, American Bus Association president, suggested a government task force to study security improvements for buses, trains and subways as a way to make travel safer. Increased security sweeps of passengers and baggage, secured areas at terminals, and switches to automatically shut off bus engines are among the steps the task force should consider. “In light of the terrorist attacks on the United States just a month ago, it seems almost trite to say that these, and other issues, must be decided quickly,” Pantuso said. “There is nothing more important to the national interest today.”