The Role of Transit in Emergency Evacuation Special Report 294 (2008) / Chapter Skim
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3 The Role of Transit in Emergency Evacuation
3 The Role of Transit in Emergency Evacuation
Pages 50-73
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From page 50... ...
The following chapter considers the role of transit in the 38 largest urbanized areas that are the primary focus of this study. Factors Affecting the Role of Transit in an Emergency The potential role of transit in an emergency evacuation is affected by both external and internal factors (see Box 3-1)
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The Role of Transit in Emergency Evacuation 51 Box 3-1 Factors That Affect the Response of Transit Agencies in an Emergency Evacuation Characteristics of the Urban Area Behavioral Characteristics • Population characteristics • xperience with emergency incidents E – Population size and transit use – Population density • Cultural factors – patial concentration of S • Trust and credibility transit-dependent populations Resources • Socioeconomic characteristics • Technology – Elderly population • Mutual-aid agreements – People with disabilities • unding for planning and emergency F – Low-income population exercises – Immigrant populations • Geographic characteristics Characteristics of the Transit System – Size of transportation network • Size of system – Constraints on evacuation routes • Coverage of service area • olitical and institutional P • odal mix and flexibility of transit M characteristics system – urisdictional complexity/ J • ype of service (directly provided or T fragmentation contracted out) – eadership and experienced L • ondition and capacity of transit C personnel system Characteristics of the Emergency • ntegration of transit agency into I • Likelihood of occurrence local emergency command structure • Advance-notice/no-notice • ntegrity of the system in an emergency I • Type (natural, human-caused)
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From page 52... ...
Regular transit service may not provide adequate service for these populations in an emergency, so that more drivers and equipment must be shifted to these locations for an evacuation. Transit has a unique role to play in the evacuation of transit-dependent and vulnerable populations -- frequently termed special-needs populations -- who may lack access to a private vehicle and may also need assistance in evacuating.
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From page 53... ...
Urban areas bounded by water, for example, may have limited egress routes that can become heav ily congested in an evacuation unless provision has been made for man aging traffic and for expediting bus travel, particularly if round-trips are planned for buses. During the regional evacuation experienced in advance of Hurricane Rita, evacuees from low-lying coastal areas in Galveston and Houston that are vulnerable to flooding and storm surge were ordered to evacuate first, but many had to travel through the heavily populated Hous ton urban area, which was also starting to evacuate; the result was massive congestion on area freeways.
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From page 54... ...
When a major emergency control center was lost in the collapse of the World Trade Center towers, transit operators were still able to communicate from mobile units. Transit operators have more time to mobilize and have had more expe rience with providing service in advance-notice emergencies, such as hur ricanes, that recur with some frequency.
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From page 55... ...
The magnitude, time, and duration of an incident are also critical factors affecting transit's response. Localized emergencies, such as a hazardous materials incident that affects a portion of the central busi ness district, require less shifting of personnel and equipment to con tinue transit service compared with an incident that affects a larger area, which requires more service alterations and perhaps coordination among several transit operators to provide adequate service and assist in any needed evacuation. The time and duration of the incident matter as well.
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From page 56... ...
Appropriate communication strategies, using local churches and social service agencies that are known and trusted by these groups, are essential. Resources The extent of available resources, both in advance of and during an emer gency evacuation, can affect the successful use of transit.
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Also critical for developing workable plans and protocols for emergency evacuations are resources for emergency planning, particularly to bring together groups that normally do not work together, as is the case for many transit agencies and emergency planners. Funding of and participation in frequent exercises and drills by transit and other agencies should also help identify planning shortfalls.
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to restore service quickly as trains were rerouted from the World Trade Center after the collapse of the towers. Transit agencies must also be well integrated into the local emergency command structure so they can provide critical support in concert with other first responders and transportation officials.
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, which conducted an in-depth assessment of the emergency evacuation plans of 56 states and territories and the 75 largest urban areas, found that the majority (85 percent) of emergency operations plans were not "fully ade quate, feasible, or acceptable to manage catastrophic events" (DHS 2006, ix)
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Department of Five Gulf In-depth assessment of on Catastrophic Transportation in Coast states state and local emergency Hurricane Evacuation cooperation with evacuation plans Plan Evaluation U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 2006 Transit Emergency J. A.
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focused more specifically on the evacuation plans of responsible state and local jurisdictions in the five hurricane-prone Gulf Coast States -- Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. State and local operations plans in the region were generally rated effective for highway evacuation.
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Evacuation plans involving use of transit are included in each county's comprehensive emergency man agement plan, evacuation and sheltering needs are addressed, and public bus systems and school bus fleets are well coordinated for the provision of transportation assistance because most school buses are operated by county school boards. Nevertheless, several areas for improvement were recommended: • Communicating expectations for staff and specifying their respon sibilities during an emergency, providing staff training, and conducting mock drills; • Protecting bus fleets, fueling in advance, and stocking emergency electric generators and backup communications devices; • Establishing and publicizing evacuation routes and bus assignments; • Preplanning for the transport of those with special needs, building on paratransit system expertise; and • Developing procedures for evacuating homeless and transient popula tions and coordinating with evacuation shelters.
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, continued operations (although A pproximately 4 hours after the attack, partial NYCT subway service was resumed; redundant subway tunnels helped restore service between Manhattan and Brooklyn later in the day as trains were rerouted from the World Trade Center area.
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Emergency evacuation plans are perhaps most advanced in communities with nuclear power facilities. Following the nuclear accident at Three Mile Island in 1979, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Federal Emer gency Management Agency (FEMA)
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The avail ability of buses and, more important, drivers to transport those without access to a private vehicle in the event of a radiological release continues to be a concern. Role of Transit in Evacuating Special-Needs Populations The committee found several studies that focused on emergency prepared ness and evacuation plans for special-needs populations (Bailey et al.
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From page 66... ...
Federal law now requires state and local govern ments with mass evacuation plans to incorporate all special-needs popu lations into those plans, and FEMA must provide guidance for including persons with disabilities and other special-needs populations in all aspects of emergency management activities, including evacuation, housing, shelter ing, transportation, and communications. Considerable challenges remain, however, particularly at the local level, for jurisdictions seeking to make these requirements operational.
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From page 67... ...
. • Communication -- development of strategies for communicating emer gency evacuation plans to special-needs populations in accessible formats, both directly and through outreach to community-based organizations; provision for communications with special-needs populations during an emergency and among human service agencies and community groups that can provide assistance.
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From page 68... ...
Other Issues Affecting the Role of Transit in Emergency Evacuation Highway Capacity The capacity of urban area transportation systems is a critical issue in emer gency evacuation, and it affects transit agencies because buses share the roads with private vehicles. A 2006 study conducted for the American High way Users Alliance (Cox 2006)
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From page 69... ...
Transit Agency Participation in Special Events and Emergency Evacuation Exercises Many large urban areas hold special events -- major sports events, New Year's Eve and Fourth of July celebrations, and the like -- that can provide a good indication of the surge capacity of transit systems and highway capacity under nonemergency conditions. In addition, effective delivery of transportation services to accommodate ingress to and egress from the location of an event often requires cooperation among agencies that usually do not work together and innovative operating practices, both of which can be useful in an emer gency evacuation.
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Significant weaknesses in evacuation plans were flagged as a major concern, with the exception of plans in the hurricane-prone Gulf Coast states and communities with nuclear facilities that are required to prepare and exercise evacuation plans. In particular, the reviews found very little indication that all available modes of trans portation, including transit, had been incorporated in evacuation plans.
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From page 71... ...
In addition, most studies offered constructive suggestions for strengthening the role of transit in emergency evacuation: • Including transit providers, as well as social service agencies, in the development of emergency plans; • Identifying transit-dependent populations and those requiring special assistance in an evacuation through registries and computer mapping and providing this information to emergency responders, including informa tion on where these individuals should be taken, well in advance of an event; • Specifying responsibilities of transit staff in an emergency (essential personnel) , providing for the evacuation needs of the staff's families, and securing transit equipment to the extent possible; • Establishing means of communication, including contingency commu nications plans, among transit agency personnel and with other emergency responders; • Developing memoranda of understanding with neighboring jurisdic tions, sometimes across state lines, and standby contracts with private pro viders to help ensure that transit vehicles, including accessible equipment and trained drivers, will be available to meet surge requirements in an emergency and that transport destinations will be clear; • Establishing protocols with a clear chain of command and checklists for critical transit personnel and emergency responders; • Providing emergency evacuation information in accessible formats to the public, particularly to vulnerable populations, regarding how they can access transit (e.g., bus staging areas)
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2007. Transportation Equity in Emergencies: A Review of the Practices of State Departments of Transportation, Metropolitan Planning Organizations, and Transit Agencies in 20 Metropolitan Areas.
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1991. East Bay Ferry Service and the Loma Prieta Earthquake.
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