Does the WMATA board of directors agree with Metro General Manager/CEO Richard Sarles’ assertion that bag searches inside Metrorail stations “make it unpredictable” for terrorists interested in attacking the system? Maybe we’ll find out tomorrow. The Customer Service and Operations Committee of the WMATA board of directors will discuss the controversial searches tomorrow, the first such official board dialogue on the procedure.

The hearing will begin at some point during the mid-morning, but will not feature public testimony. Metro’s Riders’ Advisory Council held a public hearing on the bag searches in early January, which featured some interesting remarks about Metro police “observing” those who decline to be searched and plenty of opposition. The Metro board, on the other hand, has yet to make any on-the-record comments about the program, which was announced late last year and started, in practice, on December 21.

There has been a litany of complaints about the program, mostly that it’s laughably easy to circumvent. Today, the president of the American Public Transportation Association told WTOP that the program needs to be evaluated closely to determine whether the potential security benefits do not outweigh the incentive for people to use mass transit. The Riders’ Advisory Council has resolved that the bag searches be eliminated, but Sarles appears ready to fight, if necessary, to keep the procedure in place.