Originally Posted by
VelvetJones
Yes, but that ruling was narrow one. In that instance, it was right after the London and Madrid attacks and the NYPD claimed that there was a extremely elevated risk of terrorism on underground transportation at the time. I don't think the TSA or Houston PD could make the same claim for city buses.
Much as the NY court deferred to the "experts" at the NYPD, I have little hope that any court would rule against bag searches on public transportation. Besides, any police department or TSA would argue that a bomb did go off on a bus as part of the 2005 London attacks.
Face it: public transportation is viewed as second-class in this country, outside of a very select areas such as NY. As long as commuters in their own cars are not touched -- even the Tennessee and other highway VIPR "exercises" involved trucks and weigh stations, not private cars -- there is little hope of pushback against the TSA creeping outside airports. And even if regular searches of private cars
did begin, have no doubt that the "anything for safety" crowd would be out in full force.