[sustran] Re: Terrorism, Transit and Public Safety

[Curtis Johnson]

Mr. Richmond,

I don't know you and should probably just keep my reaction to myself. But --
I guess I can't help saying that your rather over-the-top response to
Litman's data and text misses his point while laboring to make a separate
one. I don't see the conflict. You're concerned that we pursue more
aggressive interventions that reduce the terror risk in the public realm.
And Todd is trying to spike the usual simplisitic media behavior of implying
that an incident is the same as a trend and that media-covered risks are
inherently more important than those not covered.

You're both right. What a congenial condition that is. Have a safe summer
weekend.

Curtis Johnson

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Jonathan E. D. Richmond [mailto:richmond at alum.mit.edu] 
Sent: Saturday, July 09, 2005 12:51 AM
To: Asia and the Pacific sustainable transport
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Subject: Re: Terrorism, Transit and Public Safety


We should all roundly condemn the so-called "paper" on "Terrorism, Transit
and Public Safety" from self-appointed expert Todd Litman. I have long known
that Litman's work must generally be discounted because of its bias and lack
of analytical quality. However, it is one thing to be an advocate of
something you believe in, but it is quite another to cheapen the value of
life in the wake of a terrible tragedy.

"Terrorism, Transit and Public Safety" is an example of "bait and switch."
If Litman was selling used cars, he would be in trouble with Canada's
consumer regulations for such a practice. Of course, many people will have
been drawn to this paper expecting some insight into the problems of
terrorism and steps that might be taken to make public transport more
secure. Instead, the "paper" is a hastily dashed-out piece of advocacy for
transit.

More than 50 people have been killed and 700 injured in the bombings which
took place in London. It is unacceptable for even one person to be to be
killed or injured for reasons of hatred. We have a Jewish saying that "to
save one person is to save the world," and we all have a shared duty to stop
terrorism from hurting anyone. There is not a point at which we have done
"enough" to make the world safe: We must continue our efforts until we are
sure of success.

And yet, what does Litman do? In his paper (www.vtpi.org/terror.pdf), he
gives us a brief paragraph to state that acts of terror have occurred on
public transport, and then goes straight away to declare that "Yes, despite
such events, public transit is still an extremely safe form of trvel." A
chart is shown to demonstrate that public transport fatality rates are lower
than for car travel. This is doubtless true, yet it is not only irrelevant
to the particular situation of terorrism, but it cheapens life itself when
advocacy of this type takes precedence over an analysis of how to combat
terrorist activity.

The graphs which are used as a tool to indicate cause and effect -- if you
have more transit you have less fatalities -- are likely misleading. Do the
cities with more transit use have less fatalities *because* people use more
transit or for other reasons? We simply do not know. It is possible, for
example, that because the cities with the most public transport use are also
the most congested, that they have lower traffic speeds than the average,
and therefore less opportunities for dangerous driving or accidents. I don't
know whether that is the case, but I do know that the simplistic
presentation of facts Litman has assembled is designed to persuade readers
of his cause, not to provide a scientific analysis. Yet, is any of this
discussion relevant to the issue at immediate hand, and which Litman
disarmingly uses to bring people to his article, which is that terrorism is
increasingly putting us all at greater risk, and must be stopped?

Next, and most offensively, Litman states that "Transit risks tend to
receive more attention than risks associated with automobile travel...
Incidents that kill or injure a few transit passengers often receive
national or international attention, while automobile crashes that kill a
few people are so common they are considered local news, and injury
accidents often receive no media coverage at all.

Overall, transit passengers are much safer than motorists, and residents of
transit-oriented communities are safer than residents of automobile-oriented
communities, even taking into account risks from murder and terrorism (Lucy,
2002). Terrorists would need to kill 30 transit passengers every month in
the U.S. before transit riders would face a similar risk as automobile
occupants."

In other words, even if terorism gets worse, Litman argues that until we
have at least 30 killings a month, people should carry on using transit.
This is not only deeply insulting and hurtful to those who have just lost
colleagues, family, and friends, but this cheap sales pitch distracts us
from our real duty, which is to ensure that everything is done to promote
safety for both car and public transport users. We should not wait for 30
people a month to be killed, but we must take instead action to provide the
security against terrorism necessary to stop killing. In London, this
requires a complex response, which involves not only improved intelligence,
security procedures, and policing, but also public investment in the
underground system because the dilapidated nature of the infrastructure and
the severe crowding that takes place on trains during many hours of the day
is itself a contributor to security breaches and an increased probability of
deaths and injuries in the event of an attack.

And the appropriate response to traffic fatalities is not to simply tell
people to get on transit, even if terrorism escalates, but to devote the
needed public resources to provide education to stop such tragedies
occurring. Since human error is responsible for the vast majority of traffic
accidents, this implies a need for vastly improved driver education that
should in fact start with values that children learn in school and be
continued in a new and reflective form of practical instruction that focuses
on the responsibility of each and every motorist on the road rather than
with the teaching of mechanical skills.

So, Todd Litman, shame on you for your cheap advocate statement in the
aftermath of tragedy. Let us all turn instead to the real problems of
combatting terrorism and improving safety, with the assumption that each and
every human life has infinite value and that not even one death is
acceptable.

And let me add one more thing. Let us not rush to blame Islam for the
terrible things that are happening in the world, but let us follow the
example Mayor of London Ken Livingstone has taken and instead call for unity
in promoting the value of life. Here at AIT we have many Muslim students on
campus who are quite aware that I am both British and Jewish, and I have
been quick to send them a message to say that I am well aware that Islam is
a religion which promotes respect and love for all. Those who commit acts of
terror are not Muslims, and they pervert the word of Islam. Let us bring
everyone together, and not allow divisions to occur.

                                                --Jonathan




On Fri, 8 Jul 2005, Todd Alexander Litman wrote:

>
> Dear Colleagues,
>
> I just completed a paper on "Terrorism, Transit and Public Safety"
> (http://www.vtpi.org/terror.pdf), in response to the recent bomb 
> attacks in London, which puts terrorism risks into perspective with 
> other transportation risks. I plan to distribute a press release on it 
> early next week. I'd greatly appreciate your comments or suggestions for
improving it.
>
>
>
> Sincerely,
> Todd Litman, Director
> Victoria Transport Policy Institute
> "Efficiency - Equity - Clarity"
> 1250 Rudlin Street
> Victoria, BC, V8V 3R7, Canada
> Phone & Fax: 250-360-1560
> Email: litman at vtpi.org
> Website: http://www.vtpi.org
>
>
>
>
> ================================================================
> SUSTRAN-DISCUSS is a forum devoted to discussion of people-centred,
equitable and sustainable transport with a focus on developing countries
(the 'Global South'). Because of the history of the list, the main focus is
on urban transport policy in Asia.
>

-----

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