BOSTON (CBS) – There will be more eyes watching on the T, now that the MBTA has begun a new security initiative to install more cameras on buses and train platforms.

Hundreds of additional cameras will be up and running, thanks to a Homeland Security grant.  MBTA General Manager Richard Davey said cameras help make the T safer and more efficient.

“We’ve been able to solve crimes with these cameras, getting pictures of folks on our systems,” he said.

Davey said cameras can spot crimes as they happen and transit police can often respond within seconds.

“For the Bruins parade last weekend, we were able to make real-time decisions about opening fare gates, for example, at North Station and Government Center because the passenger flow was so deep,” he said.  “We did see a fight breaking out at the Park Street platform. We were able to get officers there within five seconds.  They couldn’t see it, but we could.”

WBZ NewsRadio 1030′s Doug Cope reports.

Some buses will even have live cameras that can be viewed by transit police if necessary.