Baltimore buses can record your conversations

A bill moving through the Maryland General Assembly proposes new limits on audio devices that record conversations on public buses.
Wait, there are devices that eavesdrop on us on mass transit?
It’s yet another example of the tension between technological capability, public safety and privacy that’s “the issue of our generation,” bill sponsor State Sen. Robert Zirkin (D-Baltimore County) tells the Washington Post’s Ovetta Wiggins — adding that what’s happening on mass transit is “mass surveillance.”
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MTA buses in the Baltimore area are among those with the devices, the bill says. From the Post:

MTA began using recording devices inside some of its buses in 2012, without seeking legislative approval. Nearly 500 of its fleet of 750 buses now have audio recording capabilities. Officials say the devices can capture important information in cases of driver error or an attack or altercation on a bus.

Zirkin’s bill calls for the devices to only be installed in a drivers’ seat, and could only be activated in a public safety event. The bill looked to be headed for the state Senate floor, but a vote was delayed after senators had questions about how much the proposed changes would cost.