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Why You’re Not Prepared for a Transit Disaster (And How to Get There)

Nov 15, 2016
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A wildfire starts to surround your community.

A hurricane is barrelling down on your doorstep.

A flood turns your neighborhood into a lake.

A bomb goes off two blocks away from your downtown condo.

 

Do you have a plan for the emergency? Do you have a plan to leave the area if need be? Are you confident enough to deal with the situation? Is your transit agency?

You may think that it isn’t going to happen to you, that disasters only happen in other places, but one in 39 people have been affected by natural disasters.

No matter the case, big or small, being prepared has never hurt anyone. Preparedness stems from leaders understanding the situation before it happens – the ability to act in a responsive manner is imperative to the success or failure of your actions throughout a time of crisis.

 

“See First, Understand First, Act First.”

We need potential leaders who can come up with solutions quickly and be prepared with the right resources should an evacuation or disaster occur. This is especially true in transit.

Leaders must be able to see the problem before it happens, understand how it will affect people involved and know how to act in crisis situations. If a leader can do this before unplanned things happen, he/she can instil this on to everyone around them – which trickles down to every employee in your agency.

Agencies are dealing with hundreds of thousands of riders that depend on your transit system to get them to where they are going, safely and soundly. In times of crisis, this will be hectic and scary for everyone.

 

Do Transit Agencies Have a Responsibility to Help in Times of Disaster?

New York Metropolitan Transportation (NYMT) and New Jersey Transit (NJT) were vital in rushing riders out of lower Manhattan and bringing in equipment to support emergency responders during the 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center. Conversely, in 2005, during Hurricane Katrina, it is estimated transit could have evacuated 100,000 – 200,000 of residents. But unfortunately, we never even imagined the magnitude of the disaster. The world has changed and being ready for the unthinkable now needs to be on the forefront of our minds. Because these situations seemed unfathomable, no one owned the problem.

 

Leadership and Potential Savings

Take it upon yourself to own the problem. Lead in times of crisis and before. The more planning, the more savings there will be for everyone involved – because for every $1 spent on preparedness, we can save up to $9 in response costs after a disaster. While costs can be an issue, U.S. federal grant awards to prepare for or respond to terrorist attacks and disasters totaled approximately $1.6 billion in 2007.

In the industry of being prepared, we like to say we are to the “left of the disaster.” Leaders focused on, not only the safety of passengers in extreme circumstances, but also on relieving stresses of minor delays, will be on the left of unhappy riders.

 

Meet and Greet

So how can you get prepared? Join me at the 2016 CTA Fall Conference on Thursday, November 17th at 9:15-10:30 am to hear my keynote, See First, Understand First, Act First: Leadership and Preparedness in the 21st Century – where I will elaborate on many of the topics above.

Plus, I’ll also be signing copies of my new book Leadership in the New Normal from 1:30-2:30 pm at the Trapeze booth #332 (limited copies available).

Let’s work together to build a strong foundation of leaders to make sure we are prepared for anything.


 
Lieutenant General Honoré is a decorated and proven leader with a don’t mess around attitude. Thinking quickly and steadfastly, he helped with the evacuation during Hurricane Katrina, one of the biggest U.S. disasters in history. What he noticed during his time facing disasters head-on was a lack of preparedness in our culture. He is now retired from the military following 37 years of active service, but his duties do not stop there – his next mission is to build a culture of preparedness.
 
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