Last week several memorial events were commemorated in New York City to honor and remember the victims of September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks which shook the entire nation. Eight years since then, the city is still nursing the wounds of the gruesome incident. The “9/11 hangover” is visible in form of the strict security measures that have been implemented for travel and transportation. Critics claim that these security rules are ineffective and in fact have complicated travel. Billions of dollars that have been invested by the city, state, and federal governments to build a rigid security model, is being questioned. Has there been a radical change in the safety related to travel in the city, has it really strengthened the city’s transportation tenacity or billions have been wasted?

The government has spent about $45 billion since 9/11 on aviation security, most of which has been utilized to expand the TSA staff and install expensive screening equipment. This has resulted in passengers waiting in endless lines at airports to undergo security screening. An extra emphasis is laid on confiscating benign liquids and harmless metallic objects. The valuable time and money that is utilized in screening the passengers should also be diverted in scrutinizing the airport employees who have an unrestricted access to aircrafts.

Air cargo screening is another area that has not received due importance. Congressman Ed Markey (D-MA) pursued a four-year battle to pass a 2007 bill requiring air cargo to be screened, as robustly as passenger baggage. But since the last eight years the TSA has failed to achieve 100 percent compliance to the provisions of the bill. 

Moving on to the backbone of the city’s transportation – the subway system; it remains relatively vulnerable as compared to other major cities like Washington D.C. or Atlanta, which have installed state-of-the art surveillance systems in their underground subways. The Metropolitan Transit Authority of the city that has been most affected by the 9/11 attacks, did take an initiative to develop a high-tech surveillance monitoring technology for its subway four years ago, but the venture remains unaccomplished.

Despite the above mentioned loopholes in the security measures in the transportation system, the nation is much safer than it was before 2001 and the good ol New York City still remains one of the most popular tourist destinations. 

Explore the Big Apple by experiencing our New York City Helicopter Tour and travel to other historic destinations from New York by booking our Washington D.C. Tours from New York or Boston Tours from New York.