SEPTA's Yellow Suitcase

On the tail of the latest airborne terrorism attempt, KYW reported that SEPTA can now search passenger bags for liquid explosives without opening them. (Actually, they obtained the 2 devices in February - although apparently they haven't been in use - we assume they're just reporting it now because it's easier to justify the $300K/per expenditure in light of recent events.)

SEPTA is reportedly the first transit system in the country to use them - so looks like local riders will be guinea pigs. That ought to be fun. We can't help but wonder if this means we'll need to start getting to our bus and trainstops an hour or two early as we already do for flights - according to the KYW segment airports don't use them because the device requires 2 minutes to complete a scan on a bag. With all the messenger bags and briefcases we see during our daily commute, scanning all the passengers could take ages.

Now, we don't mind a little inconvenience in the name of safety (we like our limbs in their original order of attachment, thanks), but this seems like a rather expensive and ridiculous measure to take. We know there are some noxious fumes on SEPTA buses from time to time, but we aren't aware of it being a known and/or suspected major gateway for the transportation of liquid explosives. We'd much rather see them tackle the more immediate problems of passenger safety - such as ensuring working signals and adding additional security to their station stops to deter violence, rather than jumping on the terrorism bandwagon.

Image via Wikipedia