Former Metro Transit Public Safety Officers are now called Transit Security Specialists. Metro Transit
Contract security guard services will be provided on the St. Louis-based Metro Transit system by a new company beginning on April 1. Global security firm G4S Secure Solutions competed for and was awarded the contract which was approved by the Bi-State Development Board of Commissioners in December 2019. Bi-State Development operates the Metro Transit system in eastern Missouri and southwestern Illinois.
Ad Loading...
Metro Transit is working with G4S to implement a mobile deployment strategy that more adequately reflects the travel of its transit customers. It was announced initially that G4S would start on February 1. That date was adjusted to April 1 to allow for a more reasonable time frame for the hiring, background checks and the training of G4S security guards who will be assigned to the Metro Transit system.
When G4S security guards show up for work on April 1 on their first day on the Metro Transit system, transit riders will immediately notice they will be wearing new highly visible uniforms. Customers are already seeing some Metro Transit team members wearing new highly visible uniforms. Former Metro Transit Public Safety Officers who are now called Transit Security Specialists started wearing those uniforms on the system on January 20.
With these new uniforms, Transit Security Specialists are easier to spot as they patrol the system and engage with passengers, providing a more visible and accessible security presence on MetroLink trains, MetroBus vehicles, at MetroLink stations and at Metro Transit Centers. The team is becoming more visible and more importantly, the uniforms help reassure Metro Transit passengers that Transit Security Specialists are on the transit system looking out for them.
The new highly visible uniforms and the new contract with G4S are just two of the many changes that Metro Transit has been working closely on with the East-West Gateway Council of Governments, WSP, regional elected officials, and Metro’s three professional police departments – St. Louis County Police, St. Louis Metropolitan Police and St. Clair County Sheriff’s Department. The group is in the process of finalizing a regional security plan that is scheduled to be completed next month.
The Plan is CTA's formal response to an FTA Special Directive issued in December and details how the agency will significantly expand the law enforcement surge it launched.
On a recent episode of METROspectives, METRO Magazine’s Executive Editor Alex Roman sat down with Ana-Maria Tomlinson, Director of Strategic & Cross-Sector Programs at the CSA Group, to explore a bold initiative aimed at addressing those challenges: the development of a National Code for Transit and Passenger Rail Systems in Canada.
During a safety blitz, Metra employees will visit one of the railroad’s 243 stations during the morning rush hour, distributing educational materials on train and grade-crossing safety, answering questions, and listening to riders’ safety concerns.
Operated in partnership with Tech Valley Security, trained CDTA Ambassadors will be on select routes and will rotate throughout CDTA’s route network. Their presence is intended to provide customers with an approachable, visible resource focused on assistance and engagement.
Customers have always been able to report concerns through the CATS Customer Service line or the “Report a Problem to CATS” feature in the CATS-Pass mobile app; however, CATS has also integrated a Text-a-Tip line, giving riders multiple, easy-to-use channels to get support.
