WASHINGTON - A new partnership to strengthen security at Florida seaports may simplify the security measures that motorcoach operators face when picking up or taking passengers to Florida cruise ship terminals.
The U.S. Transportation Security Administration, Florida state House and Senate leaders, and the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor
Vehicles announced the new partnership late last month.
The partnership defines requirements for background checks and state-of-the-art identification credentials for drivers, dockworkers and others who require unescorted access to the secure areas of the seaports.
The TSA will provide the infrastructure of its Transportation
Worker Identification Credential (TWIC), which seeks to balance the needs of commerce and individual privacy with those of security.
The program provides a high-tech credential that verifies workers' identities and ties each worker to a background check to ensure that high-risk individuals are denied access to sensitive areas of the nation's transportation system.
"This partnership is an example of what can be accomplished when federal
and state governments work together," said Lolie Kull, TSA's program
manager for TWIC. "By pooling our resources and expertise, Florida will
be helping TSA take the next step in its effort to implement a national credentialing program for the transportation workforce."
Brian Scott of Escot Bus Lines in Largo, Fla., said the new partnership could prove to be a "huge help" to operators in the region.
"Currently, coach operators must run their drivers through separate badging and background checks at every seaport to gain access to secure areas," said Scott. "It's a huge inconvenience and cost."
The Florida Motorcoach Association met with staff members of the Florida Senate Home Defense, Public Security and Port Committee last month to discuss the issue.
"Florida is in a unique security position with 12 active ports, and was ready to roll out its own statewide ID card for drivers on July 1," said Scott. "Apparently TSA was impressed that Florida was "ahead of the curve," as they put it, with implementing security procedures.
"As with all new programs, this will surely have some issues getting going but we are expecting it to be much better than the current situation," Scott added.
TSA concurs. It says that by having one universally recognized credential, workers will no longer have to carry numerous cards or go through redundant background investigations to enter secure areas at multiple facilities.
TSA's uniform credential is designed to help keep terrorists out of secure areas of the transportation system, including seaports and airports as well as such critical modes as rail, pipelines, trucking and mass transit. The TWIC will contain a biometric identifier, like a fingerprint, to positively identity the holder.