The security division of Hartford’s United Technologies Corp. will install video cameras and recorders on New York City buses under a $9.75 million plan approved by the board of the state Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Bloomberg News reports.
The company’s Bradenton, Florida-based UTC Fire & Security unit will place cameras and digital video recorders on 426 buses in Manhattan starting in the first quarter of next year, with completion scheduled by 2012, according to documents provided to the board. The contract includes an option for cameras for another 1,150 buses.
The program, which may be expanded to include routes in high-crime areas, is “essential to providing improvements to the safety and security of the environment for employees and the riding public,” the documents said.
“Video surveillance has clearly been shown to deter criminal activity on transit vehicles,” New York City Transit President Thomas F. Prendergast said in a statement. “We also believe that it will be extremely valuable in investigating accident injury claims.”
UTC was one of eight companies invited to present products for evaluation, and was one of three to provide equipment for a five-bus test, the documents said.
