Attacks on a country's transportation infrastructure can have serious and destabilizing impacts that are further complicated by the public availability of information relevant to these targets. Recognizing the potential damage of such attacks, RAND conducts research and provides essential planning and vulnerability assessment tools to public and private organizations from metropolitan transit authorities to airlines and rail companies.
COMMENTARY
The TSA's pilot "Pre-check" program that pre-screens travelers who volunteer for it is an overdue advance in security, but it does not address some larger issues surrounding America's airports, writes K. Jack Riley.
JOURNAL ARTICLE
Examines the security costs and benefits of a trusted traveler program, in which individuals who have been identified as posing less risk than others are allowed to pass through security checkpoints with reduced security screening.
RESEARCH BRIEF
Discusses how to design a distribution network that takes advantage of the respective strengths of different modes of transportation to meet combatant command needs while minimizing total supply chain costs.
COMMENTARY
For most of the past decade, the U.S. has pursued policies with very little regard to the costs they impose on travelers or the net reduction in risk that they generate, writes K. Jack Riley.
COMMENTARY
Fortunately for the nation's capitol, Hurricane Irene and the East Coast earthquake proved to be relatively minor events, as far as disasters go. But before everyone breathes a sigh of relief, it would be wise to reflect on how people responded to what were essentially dress rehearsals for much bigger events, write Lynn E. Davis and Arthur L. Kellermann.
MULTIMEDIA
Interviews with a selection of RAND's leading experts offer a distinctively farsighted perspective to the national dialogue on 9/11's legacy. Their insights assess the military, political, fiscal, social, cultural, psychological, and even moral implications of U.S. policymaking since 9/11.
REPORT
There are no plans to discontinue the use of whole-body image scanning machines and pat downs in airports around the country. In light of concerns about the cost, safety, effectiveness, and privacy of these procedures, the author explores air travel security performance since 9/11, identifies missed opportunities and innovations, and considers potential next steps.
COMMENTARY
Attacks on airports give terrorists the symbolic value they seek and guarantee the attention of the international news media, writes Brian Michael Jenkins.
REPORT
The U.S. effort to defeat and dismantle the global terrorism network while protecting itself against further attacks has become its longest campaign. On January 8, 2011, Brian Michael Jenkins briefed newly elected members of Congress on a spectrum of foreign policy, national security, and domestic issues, with a particular focus on domestic terrorism prevention and transportation security in the post-9/11 era.
JOURNAL ARTICLE
In this article, we present an application of jointly estimated attitudinal and choice models to a real-world transport study, looking at the role of latent attitudes in a rail travel context. Our results show the impact that concern with privacy, liberty and security, and distrust of business, technology and authority have on the desire for rail travel in the face of increased security measures, as well as for universal security checks.
JOURNAL ARTICLE
The authors quantify a game-theoretic model of terrorist decision making to understand the role of nuclear detection technologies in deterring nuclear terrorism.
RESEARCH BRIEF
RAND Europe undertook an internally funded, innovative discrete choice experiment to understand the real privacy and security trade-offs individuals are willing to make in order to inform policymakers about citizens' true preferences in this domain.
JOURNAL ARTICLE
To what extent would people sacrifice their right to privacy and liberty in exchange for potentially safer and more secure travel? This paper uses a stated choice experiment to quantify individuals' tradeoffs between privacy and security within a real-life context, namely rail travel in the UK. Using a nationwide sample, the empirical analysis yields the importance of improvements in the security infrastructure and identifies areas of…
REPORT
To help policymakers understand the privacy, liberty, and security trade-offs individuals are willing to make, RAND Europe examined three real-life case studies where these factors come into play: applying for a passport, traveling on the national rail network, and attending a major public event.
NEWS RELEASE
The long-term efficiency and effectiveness of the U.S. freight transportation system is threatened by bottlenecks, inefficient use of some parts of the infrastructure components, vulnerability to disruptions, and crucial environmental and energy concerns.
REPORT
The long-term efficiency and effectiveness of the U.S. freight transportation system is threatened by bottlenecks, inefficient use of some parts of the infrastructure components, vulnerability to disruptions, and crucial environmental and energy concerns.
NEWS RELEASE
Pennsylvania leaders have an active role to play in coordinating public and private efforts to improve the safety and security of Pennsylvania's extensive and complex railroad system.
NEWS RELEASE
U.S. communities depend on reliable, safe, and secure rail systems, but such systems are vulnerable to terrorist attack. A framework developed for rail security planners and policymakers can help guide cost-effective plans to secure their rail systems from attacks.
NEWS RELEASE
Planning a successful Olympics in London in 2012 will require organizers to learn from the successes and problems of past games in the areas of transportation, infrastructure and security.
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