Kansas City bus riders may have to get used to artificial intelligence cameras scanning their faces when they get on the bus this fall.
The Kansas City Area Transportation Authority plans to add AI-powered security cameras to some of its buses to help strengthen security and more quickly detect banned riders. It would be among the first in the nation to use the cameras, making this program a test for how surveillance technology is used in public spaces like transit.
"I think it is an opportunity for us to be proactive in terms of our safety," said Tyler Means, the chief strategy officer for the KCATA.
Critics say riders should worry about their privacy and security with the technology, and say the KCATA runs a risk of misidentifying and punishing innocent riders.
Adam Schwartz is the privacy litigation director for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a national nonprofit that defends digital freedoms. He said the technology is dangerous and shouldn't be used by public entities like the KCATA.
"This is a really terrible idea," Schwartz said. "You should be able to ride the bus to get to work, to take your kids to school, without the government subjecting you to biometric surveillance and without you being screened to see whether you're of interest to law enforcement."
The KCATA originally planned to install the AI facial recognition cameras on five buses ahead of the World Cup. The agency had hoped to use the technology to help identify missing persons throughout the tournament, which has been known to increase the threat of human trafficking.
But the money that was supposed to fund the cameras — part of a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice — was stalled due to the partial government shutdown that began in February. The delayed money meant the KCATA didn't install the facial recognition cameras ahead of the tournament. Now, it wants to expand the program to 30 of its buses in the fall.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation and other national groups like the American Civil Liberties Union are against facial recognition software used for surveillance. Schwartz noted that police departments across the country have made more than a dozen false arrests because of facial recognition technology.
Means told KCUR he doesn't think riders will have major privacy concerns with the AI-powered cameras. He views the camera program, which would initially be put on a fraction of its buses, as a test. He said the KCATA is "intrigued to see if it even works" before expanding.
"I honestly think that as this becomes more commonplace, the concerns will go away," Means said. "Anytime anyone claims that this was not them, they could have the right to appeal and then verify that it wasn't them. I think that's definitely something that has to be considered and put in place."
Means said the agency hopes the AI cameras will help increase safety on its buses. Dealing with unruly passengers has long been a complaint of KCATA drivers. The transit agency currently has security cameras on all its buses. Pictures of banned riders captured by the existing cameras are posted for drivers and staff to see and intervene if those people board the bus.
Means said the AI-powered cameras would work faster to identify the banned riders and notify the KCATA's security team — private security officers and two armed police officers — to respond. Videos captured by the AI cameras would be stored by the KCATA for five years, as current video footage is now.
Schwartz said that while both types of cameras would capture footage, the biometric data the AI-powered cameras collect is different from the current cameras that are used for surveillance.
"This is an escalation of surveillance technology that, to my knowledge, is unprecedented in this country, in terms of getting on a bus," Schwartz said. "It is one that the government simply should not be engaged in at all."
Chronic underfunding and years of feuds with area leaders has resulted in slow and spotty bus service around the Kansas City area. That means many of the agency's riders are on the bus as a last resort. Johnathan Duncan, a Kansas City Council member who sits on the KCATA's board of commissioners, said the "KCATA has a trust issue" and that the AI cameras will only make it worse and further decrease ridership.
Before the KCATA can install the AI-powered cameras, it has to update the fleet's Wi-Fi. It plans to do that in mid-July. Then the agency will undergo a procurement process to pick the company that will provide the cameras. Only then can the agency consider adding the cameras to buses.
The KCATA plans to use the cameras only for bus security and to compare against its banned riders list. The agency would need a contract with local law enforcement agencies to use the footage for comparison against missing persons or wanted lists. So far, Means said that's not part of the plan.
Means said he doesn't believe this will pose a major issue to riders when the cameras are implemented. He said security is a big issue for the KCATA and other options people have suggested, like putting a police officer on every bus, are not feasible.
Duncan said as a commissioner he'll "fight hard to ensure we never implement" the cameras. He cited the agency's transit ambassador program as one noninvasive way to increase safety on the bus.
"I challenge staff and the board to ask thoughtful questions about how we better understand riders without utilizing AI to capture their information or having privacy concerns and issues," Duncan said. "Why are we, one, rolling out a system that's going to decrease ridership, and two, putting ourselves in a precarious situation where we could put at jeopardy riders' personal information?"
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