Safety & Security

LYNX receives Gold Standard Award from TSA

April 9, 2024

The Gold Standard Award is the highest level of recognition TSA can give to a transit agency for achieving top scores on the Baseline Assessment for Security Enhancement, which consists of 17 security action items.

Sonya Proctor (left), TSA assistant administrator for surface operations, presents the TSA Gold Standard Award for security to LYNX CEO Tiffany Homler Hawkins (right) at a ceremony in Orlando, Fla., on April 3..

On April 3, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) honored the Central Florida Regional Transportation Authority (LYNX) with the Gold Standard Award for security. LYNX is one of only five transit agencies in the U.S. to receive recognition in 2024.

The Gold Standard Award is the highest level of recognition TSA can bestow upon a transit agency for achieving top scores on the Baseline Assessment for Security Enhancement (BASE), consisting of 17 security action items. The review evaluates several aspects of a transit agency’s operations, including their security plan, security training, drills and exercise programs, public outreach efforts and background check procedures.

“We are proud to collaborate with LYNX toward our shared commitment to transportation security,” said Sonya Proctor, TSA surface operations assistant administrator. “This Gold Standard Award honors LYNX leadership in mass transit security and is well deserved."

LYNX is committed to connecting the community to economic and cultural opportunities through safe, reliable and accessible mobility experiences. LYNX serves an area of approximately 2,500 square miles with a resident population of more than 2.3 million people in the Orlando, Fla., area.

“Safety is always our top priority at LYNX,” said LYNX CEO Tiffany Homler Hawkins. “To receive this prestigious recognition from the TSA solidifies the work we do daily to ensure our riders and teammates are safe and secure, whether they’re riding the bus or using any one of our other transportation services.”

TSA has oversight of public transit agencies across the country. Every year, the TSA assesses a select number of transit agencies in the U.S. for evaluation through its BASE program. Just a fraction of those evaluated achieve scores high enough to receive the Gold Standard Award.

In the most recent round of BASE evaluations, TSA reviewed 58 mass transit agencies for Fiscal Year 2023.

Earlier this year, IndyGo and the Charlotte Area Transit System celebrated its Gold Standard Awards from TSA. In 2023, four transit agencies, the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority, Jacksonville Transportation Authority, Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada and Sacramento Regional Transit District, earned Gold Standard Awards.