Statewide Transit Agency Enhances Safety and Operational Efficiency with Ambient.ai

Summary

A major public transit agency, responsible for the safety of millions of passengers across a vast network of bus, light rail, and commuter rail systems, faced a critical challenge. With over 2,000 cameras, its security team operated in a reactive mode, struggling to manually monitor camera feeds and often missing key incidents until it was too late. This approach created security gaps and potential liabilities, particularly with incidents like passenger falls that went undocumented.

With Stone Security’s support and partnership, the transit agency deployed Ambient.ai's AI-powered physical security platform, transforming its physical security posture. The team now proactively detects threats in real-time, has cut incident response times by more than 50%, and captures critical video evidence required by multiple teams. Ambient.ai has empowered the agency to build a safer, more secure environment for its passengers, employees, and the general public.

A Commitment to Public Safety

This leading transportation authority operates a complex, multi-modal transit system that is the lifeblood of its region. With thousands of cameras monitoring its stations, platforms, and facilities, the agency's security team is tasked with ensuring the safety and security of its infrastructure and the public it serves.

The agency's Security Supervisor, a veteran of the organization, champions a philosophy that true security is about more than just surveillance. It's about prevention and proactive response. He sought a solution that would move his team beyond simply recording events. "My goal is to make it safer for my passengers to be able to go through our system and feel safe," he says. "We wanted to implement new technologies to help make the system safer overall, not just add more cameras."

The Challenge: Flying Blind with Thousands of Cameras

Before implementing Ambient.ai, the agency's security operations were fundamentally reactive. A small team of specialists was responsible for monitoring over 2,000 camera feeds, an impossible task for the human eye alone. This led to significant operational challenges and security vulnerabilities.

• Missed incidents and increased liability - The team frequently missed critical events. Passenger falls, for example, often went unnoticed. When a claim was filed weeks later, the video evidence was often no longer available, as the system only retained footage for seven days. This left the claims department without the necessary documentation to handle liability cases.
• Reactive, Inefficient Workflows - When an incident was reported, specialists had to manually scrub through hours of footage to find the relevant clip, a time-consuming and inefficient process. As one specialist noted, "With so many cameras, one person can't look at all of them at the same time."
• Security Gaps - Without automated monitoring, threats such as individuals loitering for extended periods, trespassing on tracks, or displaying erratic behavior could go undetected for hours, posing risks to both the public and the individuals themselves.

The team felt they were fighting a losing battle. With a healthy security camera infrastructure but no way to intelligently analyze the feeds, they were effectively flying blind.

The Solution: A Proactive, AI-Powered Platform

The agency's search for a new solution began with the launch of its new real-time command center. The team needed a tool that could empower its specialists to work proactively. Their evaluation criteria were clear: the solution had to integrate seamlessly with their existing Milestone VMS, be hardware-agnostic to avoid proprietary lock-in, and offer a robust set of AI detections tailored to a transit environment.

Ambient.ai quickly emerged as the front-runner. "Ambient.ai had more AI detections than any other company we were vetting," explains the Supervisor. "And their team showed a willingness to adapt to our unique transit environment, which was a huge factor."

The "Aha!" moment came during the pilot program. The platform detected a security guard brandishing a rifle, a serious threat that the team would have otherwise missed. A specialist on the team recalls the moment: "It was eye-opening. We realized this system could catch things that we usually wouldn't be able to see."

The implementation process was equally seamless. After an internal IT review, the Ambient.ai team provided on-site training and established weekly check-ins to ensure a smooth rollout. The agency's two security specialists found the platform intuitive and were using it effectively within a week.

The Results: A Shift Toward Proactive Security

Since deploying Ambient.ai, the agency has fundamentally changed the way it operates, shifting from a reactive to a proactive security model. The results have been immediate and impactful.

1. Incident Response Time Cut in Half - For critical events like a vehicle stuck on the tracks, the time from detection to notifying the operations team has been reduced from over four minutes to under two. In a medical emergency where a person collapsed, an alert from Ambient.ai allowed the team to dispatch help immediately. An officer was on the scene in three minutes, with medical personnel arriving just two minutes later.
2. Proactive Detection of Previously Missed Threats - The platform now automatically flags dozens of events each day, from passenger falls to loitering and trespassing, that were previously missed. This allows the team to conduct proactive welfare checks and dispatch security or medical personnel before a situation escalates.
3. Dramatically Improved Investigative Efficiency - When an incident occurs, the team no longer has to manually scrub footage. Using Ambient.ai's forensic search tools, they can instantly find a person of interest based on clothing color or other attributes. This has reduced investigation time from minutes or hours to mere seconds.

"Ambient.ai has been a big help," a Security Specialist shares. "We're catching events we would have missed before, and the platform makes it easy to get the right information to the right people, fast. Overall, it's been pretty great."

Improved Physical Security Posture

Through a strategic partnership with leading security integrator Stone Security, the transit agency successfully deployed Ambient.ai, transitioning from a reactive and inefficient security model to a proactive and intelligent one. The collaboration ensured a seamless implementation, enabling the agency's security team to leverage its existing camera infrastructure to its full potential. This has resulted in faster response times, the prevention of potential incidents, and a safer environment for millions of passengers. The Ambient.ai platform has become an indispensable tool, providing the security intelligence needed to protect people and assets across a complex and vital public service.