Examination of Passenger Assaults on Bus Transit Systems

Examination of Passenger Assaults On Bus Transit Systems

FDOT Task Work Order #943-26 University Master Agreement BDV25

FINAL REPORT December 2015

PREPARED FOR Florida Department of Transportation Office of Freight, Logistics and Passenger Operations

Examination of Passenger Assaults On Bus Transit Systems

Final Report

Funded By:

FDOT Project Manager: Victor Wiley, Transit Safety Programs Manager Florida Department of Transportation 605 Suwannee Street, MS-26 Tallahassee, FL 32399-0450

Prepared By:

USF Center for Urban Transportation Research Lisa Staes, Program Director – Transit Safety and Workforce Development Jan Davis, Deputy Director – Transportation Finance, Management and Administration Contributor: Jodi Godfrey, Research Associate

December 2015

Final Report i

Disclaimer The contents of this report reflect the views of the authors, who are responsible for the facts and the accuracy of the information presented herein. This document is disseminated under the sponsorship of the Florida Department of Transportation, in the interest of information exchange. The Florida Department of Transportation assumes no liability for the contents or use thereof.

The opinions, findings, and conclusions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the Florida Department of Transportation.

Final Report ii

Technical Documentation Page

1. Report No. 2. Government Accession No. 3. Recipient's Catalog No.

4. Title and Subtitle: 5. Report Date Examination of Passenger Assaults on Bus Transit Systems December 2015 6. Performing Organization Code

7. Author(s) 8. Performing Organization Report Lisa Staes, Jan Davis, Jodi Godfrey No. BDV25 Task Work Order #943-26

9. Performing Organization Name and Address 10. Work Unit No. (TRAIS) National Center for Transit Research Center for Urban Transportation Research University of South Florida 11. Contract or Grant No. 4202 E Fowler Avenue, CUT 100, Tampa, FL 33620-5375 FDOT BDV25-943-26

12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address 13. Type of Report and Period Florida Department of Transportation Covered 605 Suwannee Street, MS-30 Research Report September 2014 – December 2015 Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0450 14. Sponsoring Agency Code N/A

15. Supplementary Notes

16. Abstract This research provides a status report on the state of the industry and current conditions under which Florida public transportation systems are operating, and the type, severity, and prevalence of passenger assaults on these systems. The project team will review the time of day assaults are most prevalent; type of services on which they occur most frequently (i.e., paratransit, fixed-route, commuter/express route; and location (i.e., on board, transfer locations, bus stops).

The goals of this research effort are to: 1. Identify the prevalence of assaults on bus transit passengers. 2. Identify the time of day within which the assaults are occurring 3. Identify the locations where assaults are occurring (i.e., on board, transfer stations, bus stops) 4. Identify any other environmental factors which may contribute to an increased occurrence of assaults 5. Identify any mitigation measures transit agencies have employed to reduce the incidence rate of these assaults 6. Identify any mitigation measures that may not be currently utilized by Florida’s public transportation agencies that may be deemed relevant and successful in curtailing assaults on transit passengers. 17. Key Words 18. Distribution Statement public transit, passenger assault, bus driver assaults, bus operator training, transit safety

19. Security Classification (of this report) 20. Security Classification (of this page) 21. No. of 22. Price Unclassified Unclassified Pages 115

Final Report iii

Metric Conversion

SI* Modern Metric Conversion Factors as provided by the Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/aaa/metricp.htm

LENGTH

SYMBOL WHEN YOU MULTIPLY BY TO FIND SYMBOL KNOW in Inches 25.4 millimeters mm ft Feet 0.305 meters m yd Yards 0.914 meters m mi Miles 1.61 kilometers km

AREA SYMBOL WHEN YOU MULTIPLY BY TO FIND SYMBOL KNOW in2 square inches 645.2 square millimeters mm2 ft2 square feet 0.093 square meters m2 yd2 square yard 0.836 square meters m2 ac Acres 0.405 hectares ha mi2 square miles 2.59 square kilometers km2

LENGTH

SYMBOL WHEN YOU MULTIPLY TO FIND SYMBOL KNOW BY mm millimeters 0.039 inches in m meters 3.28 feet ft m meters 1.09 yards yd km kilometers 0.621 miles mi

AREA SYMBOL WHEN YOU MULTIPLY BY TO FIND SYMBOL KNOW mm2 square millimeters 0.0016 square inches in2 m2 square meters 10.764 square feet ft2 m2 square meters 1.195 square yards yd2 ha hectares 2.47 acres ac km2 square kilometers 0.386 square miles mi2

*SI is the symbol for the International System of Units. Appropriate rounding should be made to comply with Section 4 of ASTM E380.

Final Report iv

Acknowledgements

This research report was prepared by the Center for Urban Transportation Research for the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), Office of Freight, Logistics, and Passenger Operations.

The Research Team would like to express our appreciation to FDOT Project Manager, Victor Wiley for his oversight, management, and support of this research effort. We would also like to recognize and offer our thanks to the members of Florida’s Transit Safety Network who provided valuable input in the scoping of this project and review of information and data collected for this research. Finally, we would like to express our appreciation and gratitude to the many public transit agencies that graciously responded to our inquiries and provided input and data for this effort, including:

Broward County Transit (BCT)

Charlotte County Transit Division (CCTD) Collier Area Transit (CAT)

Gainesville Regional Transit System (RTS) Good Wheels, Inc. Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority (HART)

Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA) Lakeland Area Mass Transit District (Citrus Connection)

Lee County Transit (Lee Tran)

Central Florida Regional Transportation Authority, dba, LYNX

Manatee County Area Transit (MCAT) Miami Dade Transit (MDT)

Palm Beach County Board of County Commissioners (Palm Tran) Pasco County Public Transportation (PCPT)

Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority (PSTA) Polk County Transit Services Division (PCTS)

Sarasota County Area Transit (SCAT)

City of Tallahassee (Star Metro)

Transdev (Hardee, Highlands, Okeechobee, and Desoto counties) Volusia County Transit System (VOTRAN)

Final Report v

Table of Contents

List of Tables ...... viii Acronyms ...... ix Executive Summary ...... xi Chapter 1 – Trends in Passenger Assaults ...... 1 Background and Scope ...... 1 Literature Review ...... 4 Research Process ...... 4 Assault-related Fatalities and Injuries ...... 5 Nationwide & Florida Trends – National Transit Database, 2008-2015 ...... 5 Florida Trends – Aggregated Agency Incident Data ...... 9 Chapter 2 – Florida Transit Agency Procedures and Practices ...... 13 Profiled Florida Transit Agencies – Site Visits and Interviews ...... 13 Broward County Transit, Pompano Beach, FL ...... 14 Central Florida Regional Transportation Authority, dba, “LYNX,” Orlando, FL ...... 16 Charlotte County Transit, Punta Gorda, FL ...... 18 Collier Area Transit, Naples, FL ...... 21 Gainesville Regional Transit System, Gainesville, FL ...... 23 Good Wheels, Inc. Fort Myers, FL ...... 26 Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority, Tampa, FL ...... 29 Jacksonville Transportation Authority, Jacksonville, FL ...... 32 Lakeland Area Mass Transit District, d.b.a., Citrus Connection, Lakeland, FL ...... 36 Lee Tran, Ft. Myers, FL ...... 39 Manatee County Area Transit, Bradenton, FL ...... 42 Miami-Dade Transit, Miami, FL ...... 44 Palm Tran, West Palm Beach, FL ...... 47 Pasco County Public Transportation, Port Richey, FL ...... 50 Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority, St. Petersburg, FL ...... 53 Polk County Transit Services Division, Bartow, FL ...... 55 Sarasota County Area Transit, Sarasota, FL ...... 57 Star Metro, Tallahassee, FL ...... 60 Transdev, Sebring, FL ...... 63 Votran, South Daytona, FL ...... 65

Final Report vi

Chapter 3 – Summary of Highlighted Practices ...... 68 Training ...... 68 Customer Service ...... 69 Incident Response & Investigations ...... 70 Corrective Actions ...... 70 Safety Campaigns ...... 70 Chapter 4 – Conclusions and Recommendations ...... 72 Conclusions ...... 72 Recommendations ...... 73 References ...... 74 Appendix A – Literature Review ...... 77 Appendix B – Passenger and Operator Incidents & Assaults Transit System Questionnaire . 87

Final Report vii

List of Tables

Table 1. Assault-related Fatalities and Injuries, 2008-2015...... 2 Table 2. Florida Assault-related Fatalities and Injuries, 2008-2015 ...... 2 Table 3. Percentage of Assault-related Fatalities/Injuries ...... 3 Table 4. Percentage of Florida Assault-related Injuries by Category of Injured, Florida Agencies, 2008-2014 ...... 3 Table 5. Assault-related Fatalities and Injuries, 2008-2015, All Agencies ...... 6 Table 6. Assault-related Fatalities and Injuries, 2008-2015, Florida ...... 6 Table 7. Type of Assault-related Injuries by Location, 2008-2015, All Agencies ...... 6 Table 8.Type of Assaulted-related injury by Location, 2008-2015, Florida ...... 7 Table 9. On-vehicle Assault-related Injuries, 2008-2015, All Agencies ...... 7 Table 10. On-vehicle Assault-related Injuries, 2008-2015, Florida ...... 7 Table 11. Assault-related Injuries by Day of Week & Location, 2008-2015, All Agencies ...... 8 Table 12. Assault-related Injuries by Day of Week & Location, 2008-2015, Florida ...... 8 Table 13. On-vehicle Assault-related Injuries by Day of Week, 2008-2015 ...... 9 Table 14. Conduct-related Incidents, 2013-2015 ...... 10 Table 15. Conduct-related Incidents by Month, 2013-2015 ...... 10 Table 16. Conduct-related Incidents by Day of Week, 2013-2015 ...... 11 Table 17. Conduct-related Incidents by Time of Day, 2013-2015 ...... 12

Final Report viii

Acronyms

ADA Americans with Disabilities Act APTA American Public Transportation Association ATU Amalgamated Transit Union AVL Automatic Vehicle Location BCT Broward County Transit CAD Computer Aided Dispatch CAP Corrective Action Plan CAT Collier Area Transit CBA Collective Bargaining Agreement CBT Computer Based Training CCTD Charlotte County Transit Division CDL Commercial Driver’s License CEO Chief Executive Officer CFO Chief Financial Officer CFRPC Central Florida Regional Planning Council CMV Commercial Motor Vehicle CTC Community Transportation Coordinator CUTR Center for Urban Transportation Research DHS Department of Homeland Security EAP Employee Assistance Program ES Executive Summary FAC Florida Administrative Code FAMU Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University FDOT Florida Department of Transportation FHP Florida Highway Patrol FON Florida Operation Network FS Florida Statutes FSU Florida State University FTA Federal Transit Administration FTE Full Time Equivalent FTSN Florida Transit Safety Network GPS Global Positioning System GM General Manager HART Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority JSO Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office JTA Jacksonville Transportation Authority LAMTD Lakeland Area Mass Transit District LCB Local Coordinating Board LEETRAN Lee County Transit MCAT Manatee County Area Transit MDC Miami Dade County MDT Miami Dade Transit MVR Motor Vehicle Records NCTR National Center for Transit Research NSC National Safety Council NTD National Transit Database PALM TRAN Palm Beach County Surface Transportation PBC Palm Beach County PCPT Pasco County Public Transportation PSTA Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority

Final Report ix

PCTS Polk County Transit RTS Gainesville Regional Transit System SCAT Sarasota County Area Transit SCSO Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office SMS Safety Management Systems SPP Security Program Plan S&S Safety and Security (NTD reporting forms) SSPP System Safety Program Plan SSTO Safety, Security and Training Officer SWAT Special Weapons and Tactics TCRP Transit Cooperative Research Program TD Transportation Disadvantaged TOC Transit Operations Coordinator TPD Tallahassee Police Department TPO Transportation Planning Organization TRID Transport Research International Database TSA Transportation Security Administration TSI Transportation Safety Institute TWU Transport Workers Union US United States USC United States Code USF University of South Florida VIPR Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response VOTRAN Volusia County Transit WC Workers’ Compensation

Final Report x

Executive Summary

Background Florida’s public transit systems, as well as those across the United States (U.S.), have a critical obligation to ensure the overall safe operation of their systems, as well as the personal safety of transit customers, employees, and the public. Behavior ranging from assaults, armed robbery, and vandalism to verbal abuse and intimidating and threatening behavior has the potential to impact the physical and mental well-being of passengers and drivers. The prevalence of assaults is a significant threat to transit safety, not only to the safety of transit bus operators, but also to the safety of transit bus passengers.

The tables below reflect the total number of fatalities and injuries resulting from assaults categorized as major incidents that were reported to the National Transit Database (NTD) from 2008 through May 2015 for bus service. NTD defines an assault as “an unlawful attack by one person on another.” Assaults are categorized within NTD as personal security events, and must be reported to NTD as a “reportable incident” when “the event is related to or affects revenue service, or affects persons engaged with the transit system, and meets one or more NTD reporting thresholds.” The NTD data do not include assault-related injuries that failed to meet the reportable-incident criteria.

Both nationally (Table ES-1) and in Florida (Table ES-2), assault-related injuries of transit vehicle riders are notable, while fatalities resulting from assaults appear to be rare. Nationally, there is an upward trend in assault-related injuries of transit vehicle riders with a downward trend in assault-related injuries of transit vehicle operators. In Florida, assault- related injuries of both transit vehicle riders and operators have declined, since a peak in assault-related injuries in 2013.

Table ES-1. Assault-related Fatalities and Injuries, by Category, All Agencies, 2008-2015 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015* Total Fatalities – Transit Vehicle Rider 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 2 Fatalities – People Wait or Leave 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 3 Fatalities – Other 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 Total Fatalities 0 1 0 0 2 2 1 0 6 Injuries –Transit Vehicle Rider 56 64 103 159 226 204 221 79 1,112 Injuries – People Waiting or Leaving 38 20 26 49 58 63 63 17 334 Injuries – Transit Vehicle Operators 119 107 110 140 144 145 120 54 939 Injuries – Transit Employees 17 6 14 16 16 16 16 0 101 Injuries – Pedestrian Not in Crosswalk 0 1 3 1 2 2 2 0 11 Injuries – Pedestrian in Crosswalk 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 Injuries – Occupant of Other Vehicle 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 Injuries – Other Worker 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 3 Injuries – Other 3 4 3 2 3 2 3 0 20 Total Injuries 233 202 259 368 449 433 428 150 2,522 Source: National Transit Database (NTD), Safety & Security (S&S) 40 Form (Major Incidents), 2008-2015; 2008-2015; *2015 data represent January through May of 2015

Final Report xi

Table ES-2. Assault-related Fatalities and Injuries by Category, Florida Agencies, 2008-2015 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015* Total Total Fatalities 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Injuries –Transit Vehicle Rider 2 6 4 6 6 7 4 3 38 Injuries – People Waiting or Leaving 1 1 3 0 0 1 0 0 6 Injuries – Transit Vehicle Operators 4 0 1 1 3 4 1 2 16 Injuries – Transit Employees 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Injuries – Occupant of Other Vehicle 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Injuries – Other 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total Injuries 7 7 8 7 9 12 5 5 60 Source: National Transit Database (NTD), Safety & Security (S&S) 40 Form (Major Incidents), 2008-2015; 2008-2015; *2015 data represent January through May of 2015

To provide insight into classifications of individuals at risk of injury from an assault, Table ES-3 presents the nationwide percentage of total assault-related fatalities/injuries represented by each category of injured person for the NTD reporting period from 2008 through 2014. Nationally, injuries to transit vehicle operators, as a percentage of the total, generally exceeded the rate reported in Florida (Table ES-4), while injuries to Florida’s transit vehicle riders, as a percentage of the total, consistently exceeded the percentage reported nationally. At the national level, assault-related injuries to people waiting or leaving, as a percentage, exceeded the Florida percentage.

Table ES-3 –Percentage of Assault-related Fatalities/Injuries By Category of Injured, All Agencies, 2008-2014 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Fatalities – Transit Vehicle Rider 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 50.0% 50.0% 0.0% Fatalities – People Wait or Leave 0.0% 100.0% 0.0% 0.0% 50.0% 0.0% 100.0% Fatalities – Other 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 50.0% 0.0% Injuries –Transit Vehicle Rider 24.0% 31.7% 39.8% 43.2% 50.3% 47.1% 51.6% Injuries – People Waiting or Leaving 16.3% 9.9% 10.0% 13.3% 12.9% 14.5% 14.7% Injuries – Transit Vehicle Operators 51.1% 53.0% 42.5% 38.0% 32.1% 33.5% 28.0% Injuries – Transit Employees 7.3% 3.0% 5.4% 4.3% 3.6% 3.7% 3.7% Injuries – Pedestrian Not in Crosswalk 0.0% 0.5% 1.2% 0.3% 0.4% 0.5% 0.5% Injuries – Pedestrian in Crosswalk 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.2% Injuries – Occupant of Other Vehicle 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.2% Injuries – Other Worker 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.3% 0.0% 0.2% 0.2% Injuries – Other 1.3% 2.0% 1.2% 0.5% 0.7% 0.5% 0.7% Source: National Transit Database (NTD), Safety & Security (S&S) 40 Form (Major Incidents), 2008-2015.

Final Report xii

Table ES-4 – Percentage of Assault-related Fatalities/Injuries By Category of Injured, Florida Agencies, 2008-2014 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Injuries –Transit Vehicle Rider 28.6% 85.7% 50.0% 85.7% 66.7% 58.3% 80.0% Injuries – People Waiting or Leaving 14.3% 14.3% 37.5% 0.0% 0.0% 8.3% 0.0% Injuries – Transit Vehicle Operators 57.1% 0.0% 12.5% 14.3% 33.3% 33.3% 20.0% Injuries – Transit Employees 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% Injuries – Occupant of Other Vehicle 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% Injuries – Other 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% Source: National Transit Database (NTD), Safety & Security (S&S) 40 Form (Major Incidents), 2008-2015.

In an effort to identify more accurately the extent to which passenger and bus operator assaults are prevalent in Florida, the research team determined that further investigation would be required to establish the magnitude of assaults that do occur, but fail to meet NTD reportable criteria. The results of this investigation are contained within this report and summarized below.

Scope of Study The goals of this research effort are to:

1. Identify the prevalence of assaults on bus transit passengers – both those meeting the thresholds for a NTD major incident, as well as those incidents that transit agencies are recording and tracking that may be at thresholds significantly less than those that would prompt an incident to be reported as a NTD major incident. 2. Identify the time of day within which the assaults are occurring. 3. Identify the locations where assaults are occurring (i.e., on board, transfer stations, bus stops). 4. Identify any other environmental factors which may contribute to an increased occurrence of assaults. 5. Identify any mitigation measures transit agencies have employed to reduce the incidence rate of these assaults. 6. Identify any mitigation measures that may not be currently utilized by Florida’s public transportation agencies that may be deemed relevant and successful in curtailing assaults on transit passengers.

Research Methods Utilized A literature review was conducted to provide a solid and necessary foundation for this research (Appendix A). It includes the review of literature identified through a search of the Transport Research International Database (TRID), Google, and other internet search tools that address the complexity and relevance of assaults on transit passengers.

This literature review also includes an examination of formal publications, and newspaper and online news articles; guidelines and recommended practices developed by industry groups, including the American Public Transportation Association (APTA); and other research reporting sources.

Final Report xiii

The review identifies representative work that addresses the prevalence or increasing incidences of threats to transit passengers, and includes relevant studies from other transportation modes and outside the transportation industry, where applicable.

Finally, the review explores elements that some consider to be pre-determinates in bus operator and passenger assaults. Further examination of these elements could provide a platform not only for additional research, but also the potential development of tools or other resources to assist public transit agencies in mitigating bus operator, passenger assaults, and other aggressive behavior.

The literature review was followed by a comprehensive examination of bus transit safety data on passenger assaults. This examination began with a desk exercise utilizing NTD data to frame general baseline data and issues. It was followed by an extensive effort to extract incident data directly from a number of Florida’s transit properties.

Based on the review of agency and NTD data, a status report was developed that included the state of the industry and current conditions under which Florida public transportation systems are operating, as well as the type, severity, and prevalence of passenger assaults on these systems. The project team reviewed the type of services (i.e., demand response, demand response-taxi, fixed route bus) on which assaults occurred most frequently; the location of the assault (i.e., on board, transfer locations, bus stops); the day of the week assaults occurred; and, the time of day assaults occurred.

In addition, this research included site visits to the 20 Florida public transit properties identified below, and corresponding examination of incident reports from those systems. The properties were selected to ensure equitable consideration of operating location and system size. The results of the on-site interviews, as well as aggregated agency data and supporting documentation provided by the agencies, are included in this research report.

Broward County Transit Manatee County Area Transit Charlotte County Transit Division Miami-Dade Transit Collier Area Transit Palm Tran Gainesville Regional Transit System Pasco County Public Transportation Good Wheels, Inc. Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority Polk County Transit Services Division Jacksonville Transportation Authority Sarasota County Area Transit Lakeland Area Mass Transit District Star Metro Lee County Transit Veolia/Transdev LYNX Votran

Organization The report is organized into four chapters, as follows: Chapter 1 details trends in passenger and bus operator assaults identified from NTD and transit agency data; Chapter 2 provides an overview of each of the 20 agencies with a discussion of the agency’s procedures and practices, training, customer service, incident response and investigations,

Final Report xiv

corrective actions, and safety campaigns; Chapter 3 provides a summary of highlighted practices (care was extended to ensure that specific assault data and sources of aggressive behavior on transit buses for individual agencies remained anonymous); and Chapter 4 details conclusions and recommendations.

Research Summary

Trends in Passenger and Bus Operator Assaults Both nationally and in Florida, assault-related injuries of transit vehicle riders are notable, while fatalities resulting from assaults appear to be rare. Nationally, there is an upward trend in assault-related injuries of transit vehicle riders with a downward trend in assault- related injuries of transit vehicle operators. In Florida, assault-related injuries of both transit vehicle riders and operators have declined, since a peak in assault-related injuries in 2013. Most assault-related injuries nationally (81.5%) and in Florida (86.7%) occurred on the bus rather than at another location. Florida’s total transit injuries mirror nationwide injuries, but show a greater incidence of injuries specifically to transit riders. Nationally, while more injuries occurred on Friday, there is minimal difference in injuries by the day of the week. Florida, on the other hand, shows substantial difference in the number of injuries by day of the week, with more than a fourth of all injuries occurring on Thursdays.

Fifteen of the 20 Florida transit agencies that participated in the project provided conduct- related data – incidents that transit agencies record and track that are at thresholds less than those that would prompt the incident to be reported as an NTD major incident. These data were aggregated (4,406 incidents) and analyzed to identify common characteristics, such as the location of the occurrence, the day of the week on which incidents occurred, and the time of day when most incidents occurred. All of the incidents examined occurred onboard the bus.

Disorderly conduct/onboard disturbances accounted for 36 percent of all incidents, followed by passengers being assaulted by passengers (12.1%). Fare evasion/disputes represented 8.7 percent of all incidents. Slightly more on-vehicle incidents were reported during the month of April, with vandalism to the bus slightly higher-than-average. More incidents were reported on Wednesdays, and were driven by higher-than-average passengers assaulting passengers and incidents of theft. Slightly more incidents were reported during afternoon and evening hours, with objects thrown at the bus and passengers assaulting passengers slightly higher-than-average.

Summary of Florida Transit Agency Procedures and Practices Eighteen of the 20 agencies included in the site visits directly operate and/or purchase bus service. Agencies turn to the NTD glossary as the defining source for terms, such as assault, which means an unlawful attack by one person on another, including spitting. The source of the conflict that generates an assault, while not identified as a factor or term in the NTD, can sometimes be gleaned from the description of the incident. Figure ES-1 details the source of the conflict for the 35 assaults against Florida passengers, reported in NTD, 2008- 2015.

Final Report xv

Nature of Florida Assaults, 2008-2015 Assaults against Passengers Operator assaulted passenger (after confrontation) Passenger (intoxicated) assaulted passengers (2 female teens) Passenger (male) assaulted passenger (female) Passenger (teenage girl) assaulted passenger Passenger assaulted passenger-11 incidents Passenger assaulted passenger (after slurs) Passenger assaulted passenger (argument) Passenger assaulted passenger (elderly) Passenger assaulted passenger (ex-boyfriend) Passenger assaulted passenger (conflict over female) Passenger assaulted passenger (with pepper spray) Passenger assaulted passenger (students) Passenger assaulted passenger (with handbag) Passenger assaulted passenger (with metal baton) Passengers (2 youths) assaulted passenger Passengers (3 males) assaulted passenger (male) Passengers (3 males) assaulted passenger Passengers (3 youths) assaulted passenger Passengers assaulted passenger Passengers assaulted passengers Passengers fighting-4 incidents Passengers fighting (10 teenagers/adult male)

Figure ES-1 Source of Conflict for Florida Assaults, NTD 2008-2015

Fixed route bus operators at twelve of the agencies are represented by a union with picks that range from two to four times a year and are almost always based on seniority. Bus operator lunch and bathroom breaks are rarely scheduled, so most operators must rely on recovery time at the end of the route for relief.

Agencies typically provide three types of training: new operator, refresher, and remedial. All agencies offer new operator training that consists of classroom instruction and on-the road training ranging from one to in excess of eight weeks. De-escalation techniques, conflict resolution and avoidance, basic body language, and fare handling are common topics. The use of Transportation Safety Institute (TSI) instructor training, the Smith System for defensive driving, and in-service training with experienced drivers are commonplace, but the use of training simulators is rare. Refresher training is often presented on an annual basis and focuses on several topics specific to corrective action and critical points. A few agencies indicated that they avoid the use of remedial training. Agencies that do incorporate its use find it helpful following serious collisions, unsafe driving habits, or customer complaints. Some agencies require remedial training after every accident.

While customer service provisions vary from agency to agency, most agencies immediately investigate complaints, review available video, meet with operators, and track progress in resolving outstanding issues. One agency has a specific system devoted to customer complaints. Another agency has a policy requiring that no passenger be left behind - a

Final Report xvi

passenger who is by-passed and calls the agency will be picked up and driven to his destination. Support vehicles are equipped with bike racks and lifts to facilitate transport. One agency recently hired new service managers and stationed them strategically to assist customers and minimize complaints. An agency developed a Customer Service Review Committee that meets once a week to address both complaints and commendations. Other agencies have dedicated customer call-in lines, use courtesy cards, and encourage customers to post comments on Facebook.

All agencies provided detailed guidelines for responding to accidents, incidents, and complaints. Procedures are detailed in agency System Safety Program Plans (SSPPs), Employee Handbooks, Driver Manuals, and general agency guidelines. While many of the procedures are quite similar, agencies have incorporated unique aspects that apply to special operating procedures within their agency and are designed to ensure the safety of transit system users, employees, operators, and the general public. Few agencies employ a security force; however, it is not uncommon for agencies to contract with private security firms, local law enforcement, and off-duty local law enforcement officers to provide security at transfer centers and stations, and to ride particular routes when there are issues. All agencies rely on local law enforcement, when necessary.

While safety officers play a major role in accident, incident, and complaint investigations, they receive a great deal of assistance in the conduct of investigations not only from transit supervisors, many of whom have received TSI accident investigation training, but also from risk management. It is not uncommon for risk management to handle all accidents and workers compensation, maintain a database of accident-related data, and provide an agency with a trend analysis of specific incidents. Fifteen agencies indicated they have video in all vehicles and most transfer centers. Video and audio are reviewed for every accident, incident, and complaint.

Most agencies incorporate retraining and progressive discipline for incidents involving bus operators. Route and shift changes were agency-specific. One agency will modify a route if an operator feels threatened or will place a supervisor or police at stops along the route. Another agency changed a route to ensure that a specific operator would not transport a specific customer due to personal conflict between the two individuals. One agency will modify a route temporarily for specific issues, but not a specific operator. Several agencies indicated they would modify a driver’s route assignment to ensure a driver’s safety.

A majority of the agencies are authorized to use restricted access (trespass) for unruly customers. Two agencies will restrict access if there is video evidence of an assault. In most cases, the trespass is requested by the agency, but is actually issued by the appropriate law enforcement jurisdiction. The length and scope of the restricted access varies by agency, and can range from one-day at the point of contact to one-year system-wide. Most agencies have a prescribed appeal process that identifies the person responsible for hearing the appeal, and the time frame for consideration of lifting the restriction. Two agencies have three-member groups that make the appeal decision. For at least one of the agencies, the restricted access can only be lifted by the issuing law enforcement agency.

Final Report xvii

The majority of the site visit agencies identified two groups (homeless persons and alternative schools) that challenge their mission to provide safe, high quality, on-time transit service. The most significant problems with homeless persons include loitering at transit centers and bus stops, particularly during off-hours; remaining on the bus during service hours; personal hygiene; and personal belongings. Agencies have posted guards at transit centers at night when transit service is not operating; instituted police patrols; required payment at the end of each route; limited personal belongings brought onboard; and referred individuals to local social service providers, such as the public health center and local Council on Aging, as appropriate. One agency expanded services to the homeless shelter. Several agencies provide cold-weather transports to shelters.

Agency efforts to improve relationships with alternative schools have been quite successful. Agencies reached out to the schools and developed cooperative relationships that benefited transit, the schools, and the students. One school staggered student release times to minimize the size of groups boarding the bus. Several agencies established regular meetings with schools, and school administrators now visit the transit agency on a regular basis. One agency took a bus and staff to a school for the day to educate students on all aspects of transit. The school issued student IDs, which the school can withdraw for inappropriate behavior.

Summary of Highlighted Practices During the conduct of the literature review and site visits with agency staff, a number of comprehensive programs were identified that transit agencies have implemented to enhance safety and reduce or minimize the likelihood of assaults on transit passengers and operators. Areas of focus include training, customer service, incident response and investigation, corrective actions, and safety campaigns.

Training . Numerous agencies, including Broward County Transit (BCT), LYNX, Hillsborough Area Regional Transit (HART), Lee Tran, Pasco County Public Transit (PCPT), Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority (PSTA), and Votran, incorporate de-escalation techniques in their new operator and refresher training programs. De-escalation techniques and active shooter training are examples of the training provided in two-hour segments during LYNX quarterly safety meetings. . The Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA) called on the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office (JSO) to provide training to their operators, who responded very favorably to a presentation on basic body language (posturing, threatening vs non-threatening), how to get yourself away from an attack, and verbal judo. . Citrus Connection developed and maintains an Operator Development Training Program for new hire training and testing of employees that includes conflict resolution and avoidance. . Gainesville Regional Transit System (RTS) initiates refresher training for complaints in lieu of discipline or termination. . HART provides an increased level of sensitivity training to demand response operators. . Both Palm Tran and PCPT developed specific fare handling policies designed to reduce conflict. In fare disputes at Palm Tran, with the first occurrence, drivers are

Final Report xviii

trained to simply “state the fare” and let the customer ride; the second time they let them ride; the third time, a supervisor is dispatched. At PCPT, operators are trained to issue change cards that can be used at a later date, which has become a great customer service issue, because passengers often leave their change for someone less fortunate. . Two special training campaigns include JTA’s “would you let this guy on your bus at 11:30 pm if you are alone?” and PCTS’s “Hang Up and Drive – the Jacy Good Story” video with comprehensive assessment.

Customer Service . Collier Area Transit (CAT) subscribes to the policy that “no passenger is left behind,” and will actually transport someone who missed the bus and calls. Support vehicles are equipped with bike racks and lifts for transport. . At Lee Tran, if a passenger has a complaint with the driver, the bus, or with Lee Tran in general, the passenger is separated from the driver to control the situation and offer reasonable resolutions to both the operator and the passenger. Unruly passengers, if removed from the bus, may be given a ride to their destination (one time only per passenger), to give the supervisor the opportunity to discuss the incident and remind the passenger of Lee Tran policies. . Manatee County Area Transit (MCAT) allows operators to “challenge the policy,” in two specific areas. The MCAT Bikes on Buses Policy (each bus has only 2 bike racks) allows an operator to challenge the policy and allow folding bikes on buses if the bike rack is full. Similarly, if all wheelchair slots are in use, the operator can call dispatch and request that paratransit respond to the site to accommodate a wheelchair customer. . Votran established a Customer Service Review Committee that meets once a week to address both complaints and commendations.

Incident Response & Investigations . Lee Tran established mutual aid agreements with police jurisdictions, which has a created a proactive atmosphere. Lee Tran allows police to use their new transit facility for various activities, which strengthens their relationship and increases the police presence in the neighborhood.

Use of Corrective Actions . If a BCT operator feels threatened, the agency will place a supervisor or police at stops along the operator’s route. . Citrus Connection uses security on random bus routes to monitor teenagers fighting. . Lee Tran will contact and counsel disruptive passengers regarding their behavior, if requested by the driver. . JTA met with school administrators, and they are working together to solve issues. One thing they have been able to do that seems to have helped is modified school release times to allow for staggering. This prevents large groups congregating at bus stops and seems to reduce incidents. JTA, the Department of Juvenile Justice, and JSO went to the school and discussed consequences of the students’ behavior. JTA said that these external stakeholder partnerships are crucial.

Final Report xix

. Star Metro began regular meetings with the school administrator to resolve conflicts, and, as a result, the school withdraws passes from problem students. . To diffuse the situations with disruptive students, Sarasota Count Area Transit (SCAT) took buses to the school and spent a day with the students familiarizing them with transit and SCAT bus policies. . Votran works closely with the Council on Aging, makes referrals to the Volusia County Health Department, and provides cold weather movement to homeless shelters.

Safety Campaigns . RTS developed a number of communications devices, including: stall memo (described as “highly successful” by RTS staff); bulletin board; digital signs; newsletters; mail box inserts; posted customer compliments (city linked); City Manager meets with employees annually; locked drop box for comments, suggestions, or other communication; “FYI” for drivers (drivers consider FYI to be formal communication with a required timeline for response). RTS’s General Manager makes a concerted effort to have dialogue directly with drivers during in- service and annual training to obtain feedback. . HART facilitated ergonomic changes to the drivers’ compartment that included the installation of adjustable accelerator and brake pedals and upgraded seats to a more expensive model that includes better padding and lumbar support. HART bus operators were involved in these modifications, as well as in the design and layout of the driver cockpit. In an effort to improve the pool of bus operators hired, and therefore ensuring better success for the agency’s drivers, HART’s Human Resource Department is actively involved in the hiring process, including the use of ergo metric testing to identify those with higher customer service skills scores. . Citrus Connection staged a bike safety demonstration and a wheelchair securement demonstration at the terminal, both of which were well attended and welcomed by the community . PSTA gives “Customer Service of the Quarter/Year” awards to their drivers and prominently displays the names of the award recipients on plaques that hang in the drivers’ lounge.

Conclusions and Recommendations A series of conclusions or observations has been made as a result of this research, and is included in the section that follows.

Furthermore, many of the agencies included in the site visits have been proactive in addressing assault-related incidents and have implemented policy and procedural changes that have met with success. This includes providing bus operators with the tools necessary to effectively respond to volatile situations through training, establishing local policies and procedures to deter assault events, and assisting in responding to events. Some of these policies and practices were deemed critical to addressing bus operator and passenger assaults. Specific recommendations based on these findings are also included in the section below.

Conclusions Bus operator and passenger assaults continue to occur nationwide and in Florida.

Final Report xx

Nationally, transit operators are at greater risk for a major assault than transit riders; in Florida, transit riders face more risk of assault than drivers.

Frequent conduct-related incidents were documented on Florida’s transit systems. While most of these do not meet the NTD definition of assault, they do represent anti-social behavior that ranges from assaults, robbery and vandalism to verbal abuse and intimidating and threatening behavior that impacts the physical and mental well-being of passengers and drivers.

Summary data collected during the project proved helpful in identifying behavior that disrupts transit service and poses a threat to operators and passengers.

Recommendations During the agency site visits, a number of successful practices were identified and are reflected in the recommendations below.

Recommendation 1: Coordinate agency efforts to codify anti-social and disruptive behaviors and implement tracking systems that can be shared across agencies to identify trends, catalogue successful measures used to minimize impacts of the behaviors, and share findings.

Recommendation 2: Maximize bus operator training – expand the use of de-escalation techniques, conflict resolution and avoidance, and basic body language (posturing, threatening vs non-threatening) programs to assist operators in resolving incidents in an effective way.

Recommendation 3: Develop a guide for best training practices that describes types of suitable training for de-escalation and conflict avoidance and distribute to transit agencies to ensure a concerted approach to training.

Recommendation 4: Share agency success stories of programs that have reduced anti- social behavior on buses.

Recommendation 5: Expand educational endeavors – transit staff and local law enforcement visit schools to explain the impact of anti-social behavior; develop student contracts; assign student ID cards; and involve parents and teachers.

Recommendation 6: Evaluate infrastructure improvements, including: the consideration of driver compartments; installation of video cameras with notices to passengers that cameras are in use and violators could be prosecuted; and incorporation of panic buttons in conjunction with a local law enforcement rapid response programs.

Recommendation 7: Continue development of working partnerships with a variety of organizations, including local government, other transit agencies, local law enforcement, community groups, social service agencies, and Federal agencies.

Recommendation 8: Work with local law enforcement agencies to improve response times to acts of anti-social behavior, and target known hotspots for modified services for a specified amounts of time.

Final Report xxi

Chapter 1 – Trends in Passenger Assaults

Background and Scope Florida’s public transit systems, as well as those across the U.S., have a critical obligation to ensure the overall safe operation of their systems, as well as the personal safety of transit customers, employees, and the public. Behavior ranging from assaults, armed robbery, and vandalism to verbal abuse and intimidating and threatening behavior has the potential to impact the physical and mental well-being of passengers and drivers. The prevalence of assaults is a significant threat to transit safety, not only to the safety of bus operators, but also transit passengers.

Trends in passenger assaults are first discussed relative to major incidents as reported to the NTD. Recognizing that further investigation is needed to determine the extent of assaults that occur, but fail to meet NTD’s reportable criteria, this segment is followed by a discussion of statewide trends based on aggregated data provided by Florida’s public transit agencies.

The tables below reflect the total number of fatalities and injuries resulting from assaults that were reported to the National Transit Database (NTD) for all transit systems and for Florida’s transit systems from 2008 through May 2015 for bus service. NTD defines assault as “an unlawful attack by one person on another.” Assaults are categorized within NTD as personal security events, and must be reported to NTD as a “reportable incident,” when “the event is related to or affects revenue service, or affects persons engaged with the transit system, and meets one or more NTD reporting thresholds.” The data do not include assault- related injuries that failed to meet the NTD reportable-incident criteria.

Both nationally (Table 1) and in Florida (Table 2), assault-related injuries of transit vehicle riders are notable, while fatalities resulting from assaults appear to be rare. Nationally, there is an upward trend in assault-related injuries of transit vehicle riders with a downward trend in assault-related injuries of transit vehicle operators. Assault-related injuries of both transit vehicle riders and operators have declined in Florida, since a peak in assault-related injuries in 2013.

Final Report 1

Table 1. Assault-related Fatalities and Injuries, 2008-2015 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015* Total %/Total Fatalities – Transit Vehicle Rider 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 2 33.3% Fatalities – People Wait or Leave 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 3 50.0% Fatalities – Other 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 16.7% Total Fatalities 0 1 0 0 2 2 1 0 6 100.0% Injuries –Transit Vehicle Rider 56 64 103 159 226 204 221 79 1,112 44.1% Injuries – People Waiting or Leaving 38 20 26 49 58 63 63 17 334 13.2% Injuries – Transit Vehicle Operators 119 107 110 140 144 145 120 54 939 37.2% Injuries – Transit Employees 17 6 14 16 16 16 16 0 101 4.0% Injuries – Pedestrian Not in Crosswalk 0 1 3 1 2 2 2 0 11 0.4% Injuries – Pedestrian in Crosswalk 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0.0% Injuries – Occupant of Other Vehicle 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0.0% Injuries – Other Worker 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 3 0.1% Injuries – Other 3 4 3 2 3 2 3 0 20 0.8% Total Injuries 233 202 259 368 449 433 428 150 2,522 100.0% Source: National Transit Database (NTD), Safety & Security (S&S) 40 Form (Major Incidents), 2008-2015; *2015 data represent January through May of 2015

Table 2. Florida Assault-related Fatalities and Injuries, 2008-2015 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015* Total %/Total Total Fatalities 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0% Injuries –Transit Vehicle Rider 2 6 4 6 6 7 4 3 38 63.3% Injuries – People Waiting or Leaving 1 1 3 0 0 1 0 0 6 10.0% Injuries – Transit Vehicle Operators 4 0 1 1 3 4 1 2 16 26.7% Injuries – Transit Employees 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0% Injuries – Occupant of Other Vehicle 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0% Injuries – Other 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0% Total Injuries 7 7 8 7 9 12 5 5 60 100.0% Source: National Transit Database (NTD), Safety & Security (S&S) 40 Form (Major Incidents), 2008-2015; *2015 data represent January through May of 2015

To provide insight into classifications of individuals at risk of injury from an assault, Table 3 presents the percentage of total assault-related fatalities/injuries represented by each category of injured person for the NTD reporting period from 2008 through 2014. Nationally, injuries to transit vehicle operators, as a percentage, generally exceeded the rate reported in Florida (Table 4), while injuries to Florida’s transit vehicle riders, as a percentage, consistently exceeded the rate reported nationally. At the national level, assault-related injuries to people waiting or leaving, as a percentage, exceeded the Florida percentage.

Final Report 2

Table 3. Percentage of Assault-related Fatalities/Injuries By Category of Injured, All Agencies, 2008-2014 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Fatalities – Transit Vehicle Rider 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 50.0% 50.0% 0.0% Fatalities – People Wait or Leave 0.0% 100.0% 0.0% 0.0% 50.0% 0.0% 100.0% Fatalities – Other 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 50.0% 0.0% Injuries –Transit Vehicle Rider 24.0% 31.7% 39.8% 43.2% 50.3% 47.1% 51.6% Injuries – People Waiting or Leaving 16.3% 9.9% 10.0% 13.3% 12.9% 14.5% 14.7% Injuries – Transit Vehicle Operators 51.1% 53.0% 42.5% 38.0% 32.1% 33.5% 28.0% Injuries – Transit Employees 7.3% 3.0% 5.4% 4.3% 3.6% 3.7% 3.7% Injuries – Pedestrian Not in Crosswalk 0.0% 0.5% 1.2% 0.3% 0.4% 0.5% 0.5% Injuries – Pedestrian in Crosswalk 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.2% Injuries – Occupant of Other Vehicle 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.2% Injuries – Other Worker 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.3% 0.0% 0.2% 0.2% Injuries – Other 1.3% 2.0% 1.2% 0.5% 0.7% 0.5% 0.7% Source: National Transit Database (NTD), Safety & Security (S&S) 40 Form (Major Incidents), 2008-2015

Table 4. Percentage of Florida Assault-related Injuries by Category of Injured, Florida Agencies, 2008-2014 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Injuries –Transit Vehicle Rider 28.6% 85.7% 50.0% 85.7% 66.7% 58.3% 80.0% Injuries – People Waiting or Leaving 14.3% 14.3% 37.5% 0.0% 0.0% 8.3% 0.0% Injuries – Transit Vehicle Operators 57.1% 0.0% 12.5% 14.3% 33.3% 33.3% 20.0% Injuries – Transit Employees 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% Injuries – Occupant of Other Vehicle 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% Injuries – Other 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% Source: National Transit Database (NTD), Safety & Security (S&S) 40 Form (Major Incidents), 2008-2015

In this study, researchers at the National Center for Transit Research (NCTR) performed a comprehensive examination of the nature and frequency of assault-related incidents and mitigation efforts undertaken by Florida public transit agencies to minimize the impact on the traveling public and agency employees. The goals of this research effort were to:

Final Report 3

Literature Review A literature review was conducted to provide a solid and necessary foundation for this research (Appendix A). It includes the review of literature identified through a search of the Transit Research International Database (TRID), Google, and other internet search tools that address the complexity and relevance of assaults on transit passengers.

This literature review also include an examination of formal publications and newspaper and online news articles; guidelines and recommended practices developed by industry groups, including the American Public Transportation Association (APTA); and other research reporting sources.

The review identifies representative work that addresses the prevalence or increasing incidences of threats to transit passengers, and includes relevant studies from outside of the transportation industry and other transportation modes, where applicable.

Research Process The review of literature was followed by a comprehensive examination of bus transit safety data on passenger assaults. The project team reviewed the time of day assaults occurred; the day of the week assaults occurred; and, location (i.e., on board, transfer locations, bus stops).

There were two sources of data used in this examination. First, the project team utilized data extracted from NTD; assaults are categorized within NTD as personal security events, and must be reported to NTD as a reportable incident, when the event is related to or affects revenue service, or affects persons engaged with the transit system, and meets one or more of the following NTD reporting thresholds:

. Fatality  Includes suicides  Does not include deaths resulting from illnesses or other natural causes . Immediate transport away from the scene for medical attention (1 or more persons)  Except in the case of Other Safety Occurrences not Otherwise Classified (OSONOC)  Each person immediately transported away from the scene for medical attention by any type of vehicle, whether or not they appear to be injured, should be reported as an injury.  Illnesses requiring transport for medical attention are not reportable. . Estimated property damage equal to or exceeding $25,000  Includes All property involved, including damage to private vehicles, if applicable. . An evacuation for life safety reasons . A life safety event is one that presents an imminent danger to ALL people in or on transit property

Final Report 4

In addition, this research included site visits to the 20 Florida public transit properties identified below, and corresponding examination of incident reports from those systems. A standard questionnaire (Appendix B) was prepared for use in acquiring consistent information from each of the 20 agencies. The properties were selected to ensure equitable consideration of operating location and system size. An extensive effort was undertaken to extract incident data directly from the identified Florida transit properties. Assault-related incidents for bus were reviewed in detail to identify location, day of week, and time of day. The results of the on-site interviews, as well as data and supporting documentation provided by the agencies, are included in this research report.

Assault-related Fatalities and Injuries The following section presents aggregated national and Florida specific transit assault data for the 2008 through May 2015 NTD reporting years. It includes injuries and fatalities that have resulted from assault-related incidents, the general categories of those who have been victims, and data trends.

Nationwide & Florida Trends – National Transit Database, 2008-2015 Both nationally (Table 5) and in Florida (Table 6), assault-related injuries of transit vehicle riders are notable, while fatalities resulting from assaults appear to be rare. Nationally, there is an upward trend in assault-related injuries of transit vehicle riders with a downward trend in assault-related injuries of transit vehicle operators. In Florida, assault-related injuries of both transit vehicle riders and operators have declined, since a peak in assault- related injuries in 2013.

Final Report 5

Table 5. Assault-related Fatalities and Injuries, 2008-2015, All Agencies 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015* Total %/Total Fatalities – Transit Vehicle Rider 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 2 33.3% Fatalities – People Wait or Leave 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 3 50.0% Fatalities – Other 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 16.7% Total Fatalities 0 1 0 0 2 2 1 0 6 100.0% Injuries –Transit Vehicle Rider 56 64 103 159 226 204 221 79 1,112 44.1% Injuries – People Waiting or Leaving 38 20 26 49 58 63 63 17 334 13.2% Injuries – Transit Vehicle Operators 119 107 110 140 144 145 120 54 939 37.2% Injuries – Transit Employees 17 6 14 16 16 16 16 0 101 4.0% Injuries – Pedestrian Not in Crosswalk 0 1 3 1 2 2 2 0 11 0.4% Injuries – Pedestrian in Crosswalk 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0.0% Injuries – Occupant of Other Vehicle 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0.0% Injuries – Other Worker 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 3 0.1% Injuries – Other 3 4 3 2 3 2 3 0 20 0.8% Total Injuries 233 202 259 368 449 433 428 150 2,522 100.0% Source: National Transit Database (NTD), Safety & Security (S&S) 40 Form (Major Incidents), 2008-2015; *2015 data represent January through May of 2015

Table 6. Assault-related Fatalities and Injuries, 2008-2015, Florida 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015* Total %/Total Total Fatalities 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0% Injuries –Transit Vehicle Rider 2 6 4 6 6 7 4 3 38 63.3% Injuries – People Waiting or Leaving 1 1 3 0 0 1 0 0 6 10.0% Injuries – Transit Vehicle Operators 4 0 1 1 3 4 1 2 16 26.7% Injuries – Transit Employees 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0% Injuries – Occupant of Other Vehicle 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0% Injuries – Other 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0% Total Injuries 7 7 8 7 9 12 5 5 60 100.0% Source: National Transit Database (NTD), Safety & Security (S&S) 40 Form (Major Incidents), 2008-2015; *2015 data represent January through May of 2015

Assault-related injuries by location for all agencies are delineated in Table 7. Florida injuries by location are presented in Table 8. A clear majority of injuries, nationally (81.5%) and within Florida (86.7%) occurred on the bus rather than at another location.

Table 7. Type of Assault-related Injuries by Location, 2008-2015, All Agencies 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015* Total %/Total Non-revenue Facility 2 0 3 3 1 2 3 0 14 0.6% On Vehicle 176 171 213 303 369 350 342 132 2,056 81.5% Other 22 6 9 5 2 1 6 1 52 2.1% Revenue Facility 33 25 34 56 72 78 73 14 385 15.3% Right-of-Way 0 0 0 1 5 2 4 3 15 0.6% Total Injuries 233 202 259 368 449 433 428 150 2,522 Source: National Transit Database (NTD), Safety & Security (S&S) 40 Form (Major Incidents), 2008-2015; *2015 data represent January through May of 2015

Final Report 6

Table 8.Type of Assaulted-related injury by Location, 2008-2015, Florida 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015* Total %/Total Non-revenue Facility 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 5.0% On Vehicle 4 6 5 7 9 11 5 5 52 86.7% Revenue Facility 1 1 2 0 0 1 0 0 5 8.3% Total Injuries 7 7 8 7 9 12 5 5 60 Source: National Transit Database (NTD), Safety & Security (S&S) 40 Form (Major Incidents), 2008-2015; *2015 data represent January through May of 2015

A detailed review of the nature of assault-related injuries that occurred on the bus for all agencies is presented in Table 9. Florida’s assault-related injuries on the bus are detailed in Table 10. Florida’s injuries mirror national injuries, but have a greater incidence of transit rider injuries.

Table 9. On-vehicle Assault-related Injuries, 2008-2015, All Agencies 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015* Total %/Total On Vehicle Injuries –Transit Vehicle Rider 53 64 102 158 226 203 219 78 1,103 53.6% Injuries – People Waiting or Leaving 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 1 5 0.2% Injuries – Transit Vehicle Operators 110 105 109 140 142 144 119 53 922 44.8% Injuries – Transit Employees 12 0 2 5 1 1 2 0 23 1.1% Injuries – Occupant of Other Vehicle 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0.0% Injuries – Other 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 0.1% On Vehicle Total 176 171 213 303 369 350 342 132 2,056 100.0% Source: National Transit Database (NTD), Safety & Security (S&S) 40 Form (Major Incidents), 2008-2015; *2015 data represent January through May of 2015

Table 10. On-vehicle Assault-related Injuries, 2008-2015, Florida 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015* Total %/Total On Vehicle Injuries –Transit Vehicle Rider 2 6 4 6 6 7 4 3 38 73.1% Injuries – People Waiting or Leaving 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1.9% Injuries – Transit Vehicle Operators 1 0 1 1 3 4 1 2 13 25.0% On Vehicle Total 4 6 5 7 9 11 5 5 52 100.0% Source: National Transit Database (NTD), Safety & Security (S&S) 40 Form (Major Incidents), 2008-2015; *2015 data represent January through May of 2015

Table 11 delineates injuries by the day of the week on which the injury occurred, as well as where the injury occurred for all agencies. Florida’s injuries by the day of occurrence and location are detailed in Table 12. Nationally, while more injuries occurred on Friday, there is minimal difference in injuries by day of the week. Florida, on the other hand, shows significant difference in the number of injuries by day of the week, with more than a fourth of all injuries occurring on Thursdays.

Final Report 7

Table 11. Assault-related Injuries by Day of Week & Location, 2008-2015, All Agencies Non- Revenue On Revenue Assaults Facility Vehicle Other Facility ROW Total %/Total Monday 4 287 4 45 3 343 14.2% Tuesday 0 286 9 40 1 336 13.9% Wednesday 0 306 7 66 2 381 15.8% Thursday 2 295 8 62 2 369 15.3% Friday 3 333 10 66 4 416 17.3% Saturday 2 262 6 49 1 320 13.3% Sunday 2 206 4 32 2 246 10.2% Total 13 1,975 48 360 15 2,411 100.0% %/Total 0.5% 81.9% 2.0% 14.9% 0.6% 100.0% Source: National Transit Database (NTD), Safety & Security (S&S) 40 Form (Major Incidents 2008-2015.

Table 12. Assault-related Injuries by Day of Week & Location, 2008-2015, Florida Non- Revenue On Revenue Assaults Facility Vehicle Other Facility ROW Total %/Total Monday 1 5 0 2 0 8 13.6% Tuesday 0 7 0 0 0 7 11.9% Wednesday 0 10 0 1 0 11 18.6% Thursday 0 15 0 2 0 17 28.8% Friday 1 8 0 0 0 9 15.3% Saturday 0 3 0 1 0 4 6.8% Sunday 0 3 0 0 0 3 5.1% Total 2 51 0 6 0 59 100.0% %/Total 3.4% 86.4% 0.0% 10.2% 0.0% 100.0% Source: National Transit Database (NTD), Safety & Security (S&S) 40 Form (Major Incidents), 2008-2015.

Table 13 provides an overview of on-vehicle injuries by day of the week for all agencies and Florida. For all agencies, Friday represented the peak day of the week for on-vehicle assault-related injuries, and accounted for 16.9 percent of the total. For Florida, Thursday was the peak day of the week for on-vehicle assault-related injuries, and accounted for nearly 30 percent of the total.

Final Report 8

Table 13. On-vehicle Assault-related Injuries by Day of Week, 2008-2015 Assaults %/Total All All Day of Week Agencies Florida Agencies Florida Monday 287 5 14.5% 9.8% Tuesday 286 7 14.5% 13.7% Wednesday 306 10 15.5% 19.6% Thursday 295 15 14.9% 29.4% Friday 333 8 16.9% 15.7% Saturday 262 3 13.3% 5.9% Sunday 206 3 10.4% 5.9% Total 1,975 51 100.0% 100.0% Source: National Transit Database (NTD), Safety & Security (S&S) 40 Form (Major Incidents), 2008-2015.

Florida Trends – Aggregated Agency Incident Data Fifteen of the 20 Florida transit agencies that participated in the project provided conduct- related data – incidents that transit agencies record and track that are at thresholds less than those that would prompt the incident to be reported as an NTD major incident. Data were aggregated and analyzed to identify common characteristics, such as the location of the occurrence, the day of the week on which incidents occurred, and the time of day when most incidents occurred. All of the incidents represented by this data occurred onboard the bus.

Agency incident logs varied in terms of fields reported: . All included the date of the incident . Few reported the actual time the incident occurred . Location information varied in specificity . Some agencies coded the nature of the incident . Incident descriptors varied, e.g., assault, threat, disorderly conduct . Some provided a summary of events without a detailed description . One agency reported no incidents during the past two years

Florida’s incidents by year are detailed in Table 14. Disorderly conduct/onboard disturbances accounted for 36 percent of all incidents, followed by passengers being assaulted by passengers (12.1%). Fare evasion/disputes represented 8.7 percent of all incidents, and occurred more frequently than operators being assaulted by passengers. Combined, the behaviors represented nearly two-thirds of the 4,406 incidents logged.

Final Report 9

Table 14. Conduct-related Incidents, 2013-2015 Conduct-related Incidents 2013 2014 2015 Total %/Total Disorderly conduct-Onboard disturbance 470 992 125 1,587 36.0% Passenger assaulted passenger-Fighting 132 310 90 532 12.1% Fare evasion-Fare dispute 146 196 42 384 8.7% Passenger assaulted operator-Spitting 121 182 45 348 7.9% Verbal threats to operator 58 170 77 305 6.9% Trespassed-Arrested-Ejected 75 118 45 238 5.4% Object thrown at bus-Projectile 65 108 25 198 4.5% Theft-Attempted robbery-Robbery 46 107 21 174 3.9% Vandalism-Damage to bus 31 120 14 165 3.7% Drunkenness 59 55 34 148 3.4% Verbal threats to operator/passengers 50 92 0 142 3.2% Security Incident 33 38 3 74 1.7% Verbal threats to passenger 14 30 14 58 1.3% Indecent Exposure 23 23 3 49 1.1% Operator assaulted passenger 2 2 0 4 0.1% Total 1,325 2,543 538 4,406 100.0%

Source: Aggregate incident log data from 15 Florida Transit Agencies, 2012-2015.

Florida’s incidents by month are detailed in Table 15. Slightly more on-vehicle conduct- related incidents were reported during the month of April. Passenger assaults against passengers, vandalism to the bus, and verbal threats to operators and passengers were also slightly higher-than-average in the month of April.

Table 15. Conduct-related Incidents by Month, 2013-2015 Conduct-related Incidents Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Disorderly conduct-Onboard disturbance 113 142 150 151 155 130 118 130 130 127 132 109 Passenger assaulted passenger-Fighting 45 48 45 63 62 39 32 43 33 54 32 36 Fare evasion-Fare dispute 29 38 36 38 40 29 27 24 39 35 28 21 Passenger assaulted operator-Spitting 28 27 29 32 24 32 34 33 26 44 17 22 Verbal threats to operator 44 37 30 29 17 20 20 28 24 16 19 21 Vandalism-Damage to bus 11 16 18 24 18 11 7 15 14 13 8 10 Trespassed-Arrested-Ejected 20 20 22 23 33 17 14 18 22 20 16 13 Verbal threats to operator/passengers 14 10 6 18 17 16 5 11 17 9 6 13 Object thrown at bus-Projectile 19 26 20 17 22 16 11 17 9 16 11 14 Theft-Attempted robbery-Robbery 17 13 11 15 13 17 7 21 18 15 13 14 Drunkenness 20 11 15 13 16 14 9 4 12 13 6 15 Security Incident 3 6 7 7 7 7 6 6 7 4 7 7 Verbal threats to passenger 9 4 4 5 4 3 3 8 3 7 5 3 Indecent Exposure 7 6 0 3 3 1 5 9 6 3 3 3 Operator assaulted passenger 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 Total 380 404 393 438 431 352 298 367 361 378 303 301 %/Total 8.6% 9.2% 8.9% 9.9% 9.8% 8.0% 6.8% 8.3% 8.2% 8.6% 6.9% 6.8%

Source: Aggregate incident log data from 15 Florida Transit Agencies, 2012-2015.

Final Report 10

Florida’s incidents by the day of the week are detailed in Table 16. Slightly more on-vehicle conduct-related incidents were reported on Wednesdays, and were driven by high-than- average passengers assaulting passengers and incidents of theft, attempted theft, and robbery.

Table 16. Conduct-related Incidents by Day of Week, 2013-2015 Conduct-related Incidents Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun Disorderly conduct-Onboard disturbance 153 158 155 124 151 117 74 Passenger assaulted passenger-Fighting 70 67 78 69 67 66 32 Passenger assaulted operator-Spitting 43 72 66 51 50 41 26 Verbal threats to operator 47 48 49 52 42 30 37 Fare evasion-Fare dispute 43 37 41 43 29 19 21 Trespassed-Arrested-Ejected 32 31 36 33 51 33 22 Theft-Attempted robbery-Robbery 27 22 28 21 15 15 13 Object thrown at bus-Projectile 16 22 26 15 28 18 11 Vandalism-Damage to bus 27 23 21 23 24 18 16 Indecent Exposure 10 11 14 14 9 8 2 Drunkenness 11 13 12 18 12 11 8 Verbal threats to passenger 10 12 6 9 9 7 5 Verbal threats to operator/passengers 5 7 5 4 9 2 2 Security Incident 3 3 3 3 6 5 2 Operator assaulted passenger 0 1 2 0 1 0 0 Total 497 527 542 479 503 390 271 %/Total 15.5% 16.4% 16.9% 14.9% 15.7% 12.2% 8.4%

Source: Aggregate incident log data from 15 Florida Transit Agencies, 2012-2015.

Florida’s incidents by time of day are detailed in Table 17. Slightly more on-vehicle conduct- related incidents were reported during afternoon and evening hours. Objects thrown at the bus, passengers assaulting passengers, drunkenness, and bus vandalism were slightly higher-than-average.

Final Report 11

Table 17. Conduct-related Incidents by Time of Day, 2013-2015 Conduct-related Incidents 7am-3pm 3pm-11pm 11pm-7am Total %/Total Disorderly conduct-Onboard disturbance 427 385 54 866 30.8% Passenger assaulted passenger-Fighting 157 189 18 364 13.0% Passenger assaulted operator-Spitting 135 141 24 300 10.7% Verbal threats to operator 133 139 14 286 10.2% Object thrown at bus-Projectile 29 112 9 150 5.3% Trespassed-Arrested-Ejected 98 112 16 226 8.0% Fare evasion-Fare dispute 117 91 18 226 8.0% Theft-Attempted robbery-Robbery 49 45 7 101 3.6% Drunkenness 21 43 4 68 2.4% Vandalism-Damage to bus 33 43 3 79 2.8% Verbal threats to passenger 20 29 2 51 1.8% Verbal threats to operator/passengers 15 19 0 34 1.2% Indecent Exposure 16 15 4 35 1.2% Security Incident 13 8 0 21 0.7% Operator assaulted passenger 2 0 0 2 0.1% Total 1,265 1,371 173 2,809 100.0% %/Total 45.0% 48.8% 6.2% 100.0%

Source: Aggregate incident log data from 15 Florida Transit Agencies, 2012-2015.

Final Report 12

Chapter 2 – Florida Transit Agency Procedures and Practices

Most U.S. transit systems, including Florida’s systems, have been proactive in establishing standard operating procedures (SOPs) developed to deter or reduce assault-related incidents. Transit agencies also are making progress in preparing their bus operators to respond effectively to escalating engagements with passengers through focused training on topics such as defusing a volatile situation and customer service.

Profiled Florida Transit Agencies – Site Visits and Interviews The research team performed site visits at 20 Florida transit agencies, including:

Agency profile information was obtained from the National Transit Database for the 2013 reporting year.

Final Report 13

Broward County Transit, Pompano Beach, FL BCT is the public transportation provider for Broward County, Florida covering an area of approximately 410 square miles. BCT provides links to Miami-Dade Transit, Palm Tran, and to Tri-Rail commuter rail service. Fixed routes provide connections to the community’s multimodal transportation network, as well as system-wide connections at four transfer terminals. The 2013 NTD agency profile is provided below.

Service Statistics - 2013 Directly Operated Purchased Transportation Bus Bus Demand Response Annual Unlinked Passenger Trips 37,975,300 123,600 693,500 Annual Passenger Miles 185,311,000 952,700 7,199,300 Annual Vehicle Revenue Miles 14,145,600 146,300 6,329,600 Vehicle Operated in Maximum Service 261 4 197

Source: National Transit Database,Table 19, 2013.

Agency Procedures and Practices Fixed route operators are BCT employees, while demand response operators work directly for the private contractor. All employees are unionized and pick assignments three times per year based on seniority. Bus operators are afforded no lunch or bathroom breaks other than during recovery time at the end of a route.

Training New operators participate in an 8-week class with the last 2 weeks under the supervision of a “trainer operator.” Operators engage in significant “in the seat” training, almost from week one, when the operator drives the bus in the yard. De-escalation training is a critical component for new operators. BCT’s Safety Division is in the process of revamping refresher training, which is provided by operations. BCT provides no remedial training.

Incident Response BCT provides armed security at each transfer center, 24 hours a day, even on those days when the agency is not operating service, pursuant to a contract with the Broward County Sheriff’s Office.

Investigations Safety and security personnel are responsible for operations and maintenance safety, and safety personnel have a dotted line reporting relationship to the general manager. Additional safety personnel were recently hired to assist the organization in enhancing safety training and oversight in an effort to reduce accidents and liability. Safety committee meetings are held monthly and include as many as 20 participants who represent all departments, the union, and risk management.

BCT has a monthly accident review board for operators and mechanics using National Safety Council (NSC) Guidelines. The driver’s identity is anonymous. BCT subscribes to the philosophy that “no collision is a free pass for the operator, if there are onboard injuries.”

Final Report 14

Five preventable incidents in 24 months results in termination. County Risk Management handles all claims.

All vehicles are equipped with audio and video, which can be viewed in the control room. Video is downloaded wirelessly when the bus enters the yard. BCT is in the process of adding more cameras and Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD)/Automated Vehicle Location (AVL) to all fixed route buses. Video is also available at the main terminal. Vehicles are not equipped with a panic button, but the operator and the control room can change the head sign to say “call the police.”

BCT does have a wireless communications device policy that provides that a bus operator must be out of the seat to use a wireless communication device. Progressive discipline is used for violations that occur.

Corrective Actions Corrective actions incorporated in the past several years include retraining, the use of progressive discipline, and a route change for a specific driver. If a BCT operator feels threatened, the agency will place a supervisor or police at stops along the operator’s route.

BCT can bar passengers from the system, particularly in the case of an assault on an operator. Responsibility for issuing a notice of trespass falls to a BCT supervisor rather than to the local law enforcement agency.

There is a homeless encampment across the street from BCT’s main terminal. Individuals who are living in this area have been known to disrupt transit services. Because homeless shelters receive reduced fare passes for distribution, homeless persons are encouraged to use transit. In cold weather, BCT does pick up and transport homeless persons to shelters when the temperature reaches 45 degrees or less. BCT also posts a guard at the NE transfer center at night, when not operating, in order to control the homeless population.

Safety Campaigns In the past several years, BCT has issued operator safety awards, safety certificates, and awarded an “Operator of the Month” to an outstanding operator at each of the garages. The BCT Operator of the year receives a plaque and the recipient’s picture is placed on a bus.

Final Report 15

Central Florida Regional Transportation Authority, dba, “LYNX,” Orlando, FL LYNX is the public transportation provider for the Orlando, Florida urbanized area. LYNX provides the following transit modes: bus, demand response, and vanpool. LYNX is the designated Community Transportation Coordinator for Orange, Osceola, and Seminole counties. The 2013 NTD agency profile is provided below.

Service Statistics - 2013 Directly Operated Purchased Transportation Demand Bus BRT Bus Response Vanpool Annual Unlinked Passenger Trips 27,846,600 844,500 145,100 770,100 246,700 Annual Passenger Miles 146,407,100 615,800 1,235,000 9,816,500 9,225,200 Annual Vehicle Revenue Miles 14,328,500 140,200 555,700 8,903,600 1,554,700

Vehicle Operated in Maximum Service 226 7 14 236 88

Source: National Transit Database,Table 19, 2013.

Agency Procedures and Practices Fixed route and demand response operators are LYNX employees; however, paratransit employees are administered by the contractor, MV Transportation (MV). Operators do not crossover from fixed route to paratransit. Only fixed route and bus rapid transit operators are unionized. LYNX has a major bid one time each year with routes picked quarterly. Bathroom and lunch breaks for fixed route operators are not scheduled.

Training LYNX significantly increased their new operator training, and reported a major improvement in the overall attitude of operators in response to these changes. In addition, in 2013 LYNX introduced the use of a simulator in their training program. Training is also the focus of quarterly safety meeting. De-escalation techniques and active shooter training are examples of the training provided in two-hour segments during these quarterly meetings.

Refresher training is provided annually, and retraining is customizable. The LYNX intranet system allows for training via “LYNX University,” and provides training specific to corrective actions established through vetting and counseling of the operator. Per the employment contract, LYNX can make remedial training and use of Employee Assistance Program (EAP), mandatory.

Customer Service LYNX has a specific system devoted to customer complaints. Any complaints received are thoroughly investigated, vetted, and resolved if deemed valid.

Recently, in an effort to improve customer service and retard any incidents of aggressive behavior from their operators, LYNX initiated a renewed focus on hiring, and introduced the Select Advantage screening tool.

Final Report 16

Incident Response & Investigations The Risk, Safety, and Security function currently reports directly to LYNX’s Chief Executive Officer. At one point, the functions were separate. Both safety and risk management respond to the scene of an incident, which is under the control of operations; risk handles risk-related elements. Safety does outreach and quarterly training, as mentioned above.

LYNX has no accident review committee. The supervisor controls the accident scene, takes care of passengers, assigns a bus to continue the route, distributes courtesy cards, completes an independent assessment, and administers the post-accident test. The supervisor completes the report, and sends it to risk management, who makes the preventable/non-preventable determination. Operations reviews, considers other factors (union input), and makes a determination. The employee can request an appeal hearing with the operations director.

All buses have cameras – 40’ buses have 8, and articulated buses have 12. Everything is recorded, using the Seon Bus Surveillance System. Video is used for all reviews – accidents, incidents, and complaints.

Operators are allowed to have wireless devices on board, but they must be stowed. Operators may use wireless devices off of the bus at the end of the line. Violation of the policy on use can result in termination. Notices are posted on the pavement in the operations facility to remind employees to refrain from texting.

In an effort to ensure safe route operation, route locations and timing are reviewed semi- annually.

Trapeze was put in place in 2012, and has led to improvements in the way data are collected and tracked.

Corrective Actions Corrective actions incorporated in the past several years include retraining and the use of progressive discipline. LYNX is not likely to modify an operator’s shift, but did modify a route only once due to a threat of violence.

LYNX employs no transit police and uses the Orange County Sheriff’s Office and local jurisdictional police departments, when necessary. On occasion, LYNX has posted supervisors at the terminal. LYNX indicated they have not experienced any difficulties with any disruptive groups.

Safety Campaigns In the past several years, LYNX has held a week-long safety campaign, single-day safety events, and posted weekly safety notices on CCTV monitors in the drivers’ lounge with clips from vehicles, YouTube, and other sources. As mentioned previously, they also conducted quarterly safety meetings that include specific safety training. LYNX also placed critical safety messages on the dispatchers’ daily “hot board.”

Final Report 17

Charlotte County Transit, Punta Gorda, FL Charlotte County Transit Division provides demand response, demand response taxi, and vanpool services. Charlotte County, Florida is the designated Community Transportation Coordinator (CTC) for the county, and Charlotte County Transit is the operational unit responsible for CTC functions. The 2013 NTD agency profile is provided below.

Service Statistics - 2013 Directly Operated Purchased Transportation Demand Demand Vanpool Response Response-Taxi Annual Unlinked Passenger Trips 19,800 118,000 3,200 Annual Passenger Miles 330,300 1,059,000 88,100 Annual Vehicle Revenue Miles 94,400 810,100 88,100

Vehicle Operated in Maximum Service 8 25 3

Source: National Transit Database,Table 19, 2013.

Agency Procedures and Practices Charlotte County Transit Division (CCTD) provides no fixed route bus service. As the CTC, CCTD employs 31 contract drivers, 28 volunteer drivers, 10 full-time employees (3 dispatchers, 4 operations coordinators, a transit operations supervisor, and a 2-person fiscal unit), and 4 part-time schedulers/dispatchers.

Training After hire, but before being placed into road service, operators receive information on bus transit system safety and operational policies and procedures; handling emergencies and security threats; boarding and alighting passengers; and, security and threat awareness. Instruction in CCTD rules and standard operating procedures is provided to drivers in the following areas: general rules, including employee conduct codes; customer service; traffic laws; fare handling; and, radio procedures. New drivers are required to successfully undergo in-service training with an experienced driver. A Driver Manual for new hire training and testing of employees that contains referenced information in a codified fashion is maintained as part of the Safety Training Program.

Transit Operations Coordinators (TOCs) develop and maintain a Training Manual for ongoing and refresher training and testing of employees. The Training Manual contains training course content, curriculum, lesson plans, and testing requirements. Annual refresher training is provided. CCTD employs remedial training for drivers who have been involved in a serious collision or have developed unsafe driving behavior or other driving problems. Other causes for remedial training may include persistent customer complaints, supervisor recommendations, or as a result of ongoing evaluations. Depending on the circumstances, the assigned TOC will determine the appropriate remedial training and testing after conferring with the Transit Supervisor.

Final Report 18

Customer Service Customer service training covers expectations of employees when dealing with the public, including instruction on how and to whom to report security incidents, and types of individuals or situations to be aware of and report. Signs with the agency phone number for complaints are posted in all vehicles. A review of complaints and grievances is prepared for each quarterly Local Coordinating Board (LCB) Meeting. CCTD receives hundreds of complaints each month. Most complaints are related to “no-shows,” the term the agency uses to describe passengers who fail to call or show up for their scheduled pick-up times. Repeated failure to show up for scheduled rides yields a 30-day suspension. Many customers call after receiving a suspension notice. In general, half of the suspensions issued in a day are withdrawn after speaking with customers. Minor verbal complaints are handled by staff immediately – more serious complaints progress to supervisors, and then to the transit manager.

Incident Response In the event of an incident, including assaults or other aggressive or disruptive behavior, the driver pulls off the road and stops the vehicle. If the driver requests assistance, the dispatcher/supervisor calls 911. If the situation is defused, the driver resumes the route. Dispatch logs the type of incident that occurred. CCTD reported that there have been no incidents where a supervisor had to report to the scene.

Investigations All vehicles have audio and video, which are used for accident and incident investigations. CCTD will have a live feed of audio and video available by the end of 2015.

In the event of an accident, the driver notifies dispatch. Dispatch notifies the supervisor and calls 911, if necessary. The supervisor responds to the scene, where all parties are required to remain. The supervisor takes statements from everyone present. TOCs track accidents and calculate the chargeable accident rate. The Fleet & Transit Manager determines whether an accident is preventable or non-preventable.

Corrective Actions Retraining has never been required. CCTD does use progressive discipline, when necessary; however, discipline has never escalated beyond a warning. Shift modifications are not used. One route was changed so that one specific driver would not be required to transport one specific passenger. There have been no modifications to driver-compartments.

Restricted access (trespass) is related to service “no-shows,” typically for 30 days, and can be appealed immediately. Most are rescinded. CCTD has no in-house security personnel, and uses local law enforcement, when necessary.

Use of wireless devices while the transit vehicle is in motion is prohibited. Progressive discipline is used, starting with a warning. The agency has no violations beyond an initial warning.

Final Report 19

Safety Campaigns The most recent safety campaign was called “No Sharps,” and was instituted after an empty insulin syringe was dropped on a bus after a veterans’ hospital pick-up. A designated Transit Operations Supervisor subscribes to “alerts” for road closures, and posts the closures for the bus drivers. Bus drivers broadcast accidents they encounter.

Final Report 20

Collier Area Transit, Naples, FL Collier Area Transit (CAT) is the public transportation provider for Collier County, Florida. Connecting the community with transportation choices is an initiative of Collier County to ensure all existing and potential transit users are aware of all transit options. The 2013 NTD agency profile is provided below.

Service Statistics - 2013 Purchased Transportation Demand Bus Response Annual Unlinked Passenger Trips 1,361,300 87,300 Annual Passenger Miles 11,434,900 1,017,000 Annual Vehicle Revenue Miles 1,226,200 950,600 Vehicle Operated in Maximum Service 16 23

Source: National Transit Database,Table 19, 2013.

Agency Procedures and Practices CAT procures fixed route and demand response service from Keolis Transit America (Keolis). CAT requires all contract service operators to fully comply with the established safety standards set forth in Rule Chapter 14-90, Florida Administrative Code and the adopted SSPP. The CAT Transit Manager oversees the Keolis contract. Keolis manages all aspects of fixed route and demand response service.

Training Training conforms to the SSPP and includes general rules, customer service, fare handling, and radio procedures. Most operators are long-term employees. The Safety Manager is responsible for conducting and documenting all training and testing activities. Refresher training is conducted as necessary to remain compliant. Remedial training is employed for drivers who have been involved in a serious collision or have developed unsafe driving behavior or other driving problems. Other causes for remedial training may include persistent customer complaints, supervisor recommendations, or a result of ongoing evaluations. The Safety Manager determines the appropriate remedial training.

Customer Service Video is reviewed for all customer complaints. No passenger is left behind – CAT will actually transport someone who missed the bus and calls. Support vehicles are equipped with bike racks and lifts.

Incident Response & Investigations The County is self-insured. Keolis holds all accident liability; Collier County government is “held harmless” for accidents/incidents. Collier Risk Management has no involvement in accident/incident investigation or subsequent activities.

In an accident, the operator pulls over, calls dispatch, opens doors, and pushes the silent alarm, so dispatch can hear any dialogue exchanged. Dispatch decides on what action to

Final Report 21

take, sends out a blanket email (Transit Manager is on list), contacts appropriate staff, and the supervisor responds. Dispatch sends another bus to complete the route.

The CAT Transit Manager has monthly meetings with the contractor regarding maintenance and accidents and recently began registering accidents as preventable/non-preventable. The Transit Manager sits on the Congestion Management Committee that tracks accidents and road improvements and shares the information with CAT.

Membership of the Accident Review Committee is dependent upon the severity of the event, but generally includes two union representatives, two management representatives, and the General Manager. CAT reported a reduction in minor accidents after the addition of hands- on training. Collier County does track trends of some types of incidents, such as sideswipes and side mirror strikes.

All vehicles have video and audio. CAT reviews both audio and video for all incidents.

Use of a personal wireless device is prohibited while the transit vehicle is in motion. Emergency use is allowed, but the vehicle must be parked.

Corrective Actions CAT has in-house security at the transit center, and uses local law enforcement, when necessary.

Customers can be trespassed from the point of contact (bus stop) by the Collier County Sheriff’s Office for a year. Customers cannot be trespassed system-wide. CAT posts pictures of trespassed customers.

CAT indicated that there is a homeless shelter close to the transit center. If homeless people stay at the bus stops, CAT calls security, and security notifies the Sheriff’s Office. CAT does not provide local school transport, and has no problem with disruptive students.

Safety Campaigns CAT posts the “Buzz of the Week” safety message and ongoing “Safety First” reminders are issued or posted.

Final Report 22

Gainesville Regional Transit System, Gainesville, FL Gainesville Regional Transit System (RTS) is the public transportation provider for the City of Gainesville, Florida, Alachua County, Florida, and the campuses of the University of Florida and Santa Fe State College. Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Paratransit service is also provided to anyone with a Gainesville address. The 2013 NTD agency profile is provided below.

Purchased Service Statistics - 2013 Directly Operated Transportation Bus Demand Response Annual Unlinked Passenger Trips 10,832,700 51,100 Annual Passenger Miles 26,540,100 469,900 Annual Vehicle Revenue Miles 3,317,200 502,300 Vehicle Operated in Maximum Service 103 35

Source: National Transit Database,Table 19, 2013.

Agency Procedures and Practices Fixed route operators are RTS employees, while demand response operators work directly for private contractors. All full-time employees are unionized. There are three picks per year based on seniority.

Bus operators are afforded no lunch or bathroom breaks other than during recovery time at the end of a route. Bus operators are not disciplined for being late on their runs which has helped curb aggressive driving and provides an opportunity for relief breaks when recovery time is constrained.

Training RTS provides specific training for fare handling, which focuses on avoiding a confrontation. New fare boxes have a short button in the event a passenger does not have enough to pay their fare. Operators have access to three panic buttons: Event recorder, Code with dispatch (radio), and Console – “Call the Police” display.

Operators receive 40 hours of refresher training each year. In-service refresher training is conducted based on a specific incident or safety concern. Post-accident refresher training is also provided. The driver is edited out of the video, and role play is used to demonstrate how to prevent an accident or incident. RTS utilizes refresher training for complaints in lieu of discipline or termination.

Every other year the Center for Independent Living does ADA certifications for sensitivity training.

Customer Service For complaints, RTS matches the driver with the corresponding video/audio recording and will counsel an employee if there is evidence that the customer complaint is valid. RTS uses counseling prior to issuing a written warning (RTS has issued a very small number of written warnings) and an operator can be referred to training. The complaint

Final Report 23

remains in the operator’s file for 18 months (while safety violations never go away). RTS has seen a reduction in the number of complaints.

Incident Response RTS has no security personnel or contract security.

Investigations For accidents, dispatch calls and emails RTS designated contacts and the City of Gainesville Risk Management Department. Risk management always responds to accidents involving injuries and fatalities, and interacts directly with the claimant. Supervisors, who have all been trained in TSI accident investigation, conduct incident reviews. Risk management informs RTS of employee injuries. Those incidents deemed serious are referred to the Safety Committee that meets monthly. However, most safety incidents are handled directly between the supervisor and employee. Preventability is determined by a group of RTS managers. To aid in the accident review process, RTS vehicles have video cameras providing six views and have real-time vehicle location and tracking software.

Incidents involving slips, trips, and falls are taken seriously and RTS monitors the condition of steps and flooring of each vehicle to reduce these risks. Per RTS policy, passengers must be secured before proceeding on a route, which RTS indicates is a controversial “grey area.”

Routes are frequently evaluated. Incidents that occur on the system are mapped via a Global Positioning System (GPS) application. Trends by route are examined to identify any issues that need to be addressed.

City policy requires that wireless devices cannot be located near the driver of any city vehicle. For a city revenue vehicle, the first violation results in a 40-hour suspension, while the second violation results in termination. For city non-revenue vehicles, the first violation results in a written reprimand, the second violation results in a suspension, and the third violation results in termination.

As mentioned previously, all RTS vehicles have video cameras that provide views from six angles.

Corrective Actions RTS has not modified an operator’s shift, and would only modify a route based on the line- up of the route. RTS has not made adjustments to the driver-compartment, but has modified seats and added fans, with a focus on keeping the bus operators comfortable. .

The City of Gainesville Police Department can trespass for one-year system-wide, while RTS does have the option of trespassing a rider for 90-days system-wide. A trespass can be appealed. RTS reported that only four persons have been trespassed, and none resulted from an incident on the bus.

According to RTS personnel, there are disruptive groups that ride the system, including students from an alternative school and the homeless. The school receives ½ fare passes, and homeless shelters receive free passes from the City of Gainesville through RTS. RTS has resolved the school conflict through discussions with school officials. RTS is actually expanding routes to serve the homeless at the local shelter and Dignity Village.

Final Report 24

Safety Campaigns In the past several years, RTS has instituted a bus version of “Click It or Ticket,” presented cash awards for years of safe driving, and developed a number of communications devices, including: stall memo (highly successful); bulletin board; digital signs; newsletters; mail box inserts; posted customer compliments (City linked); locked drop box; and “FYI” for drivers (drivers consider FYI to be formal communication with a required timeline for response). In addition, RTS’s General Manager makes a concerted effort to have dialogue directly with drivers during in-service and annual training to obtain feedback.

Final Report 25

Good Wheels, Inc. Fort Myers, FL Good Wheels, Inc. presently serves as the CTC in Lee, Hendry, and Glades counties in Florida, and is the major transportation provider for the Transportation Disadvantaged (TD) in those counties. The 2013 NTD agency profile is provided below.

Service Statistics - 2013 Directly Operated Bus Annual Unlinked Passenger Trips 1,558,734 Annual Passenger Miles 8,299,619 Annual Vehicle Revenue Miles 1,508,510 Vehicle Operated in Maximum Service 45

Source: National Transit Database,Table 19, 2013.

Agency Procedures and Practices Good Wheels, Inc. (Good Wheels) completes background checks for new hires. Motor Vehicle Records (MVRs) are pulled every 3-6 months.

Training Training for a new hires includes seven days of classroom and hands-on training; however, the actual length of the training depends on how the driver performs. The Safety and Driver Trainer (trainer) uses OSHA training, as well as other sources for training small groups of employees. The trainer uses a 2-step training program that is delivered during employee meetings and in refresher training that that deals with the most common incidents that have occurred on the system.

Refresher training provided by Good Wheels, Inc. includes:

. Biennial Training for Experienced Drivers: National Safety Council’s Defensive Driving Course . Curbing Transit Operator Distracted Driving Course . Handling Passengers with Special Needs . Road Test (Good Wheels renews this annually) . Certification renewal to operate specific vehicles and lift equipment (triennial) . First Aid (annual) . CPR (annual) . Blood borne Pathogens (annual) . Substance Abuse (Good Wheels renews this annually) . Wireless distractions training (every other year)

Additional refresher training may be provided on safety and relevant topics if specific issues surface that could expose Good Wheels to increased risk.

Training sessions are provided to discuss and review other operational issues, including the condition of the equipment and vehicles, customer service, safety, and road and traffic concerns.

Final Report 26

Customer Service A complaint hotline number is posted in all vehicles. Good Wheels reported that there have been no passenger complaints of mistreatment – ever. Good Wheels does assemble a summary of complaints for presentation to the LCB. Good Wheels conducts periodic random ridership surveys.

Incident Response Good Wheels has no security personnel, and uses local law enforcement, when necessary.

Investigations Good Wheels maintains a comprehensive accident reporting, evaluation, and record maintenance system. In the case of an incident/accident, drivers notify dispatch. Dispatch contacts the appropriate law enforcement accident investigating office, emergency medical service (EMS), and supervisor, as required. The trainer reports to the scene of the accident to assess and manage the situation, as necessary. The driver completes an Incident/Accident Form, which, along with the Investigating Officer’s Report Form, and other pertinent documentation, are provided to the Safety Committee for review.

All accidents and incidents are reviewed by the Safety Committee, which meets monthly. Members of the Safety Committee include: CEO/CFO, Vice President of Operations, Director of Human Resources, Safety and Driver Trainer, Paratransit Road Supervisor, and a driver. The Safety Committee reviews the details of all accidents, decides if the accident was chargeable or non-chargeable, and makes recommendations to prevent future occurrences. The committee may recommend disciplinary action to be taken. The trainer is responsible for determining if the accident was preventable or non-preventable, based on NSC guidelines, and also identifies any other hazards at the accident scene that could contribute to accidents in the future. All drivers are required to attend mandatory safety meetings.

If a credible source observes and reports any driver using a wireless communication device, while moving, that driver will be disciplined up to and including termination. Good Wheels may take the following action, as required: first violation – warning in the form of a written reprimand, 1-day suspension without pay, and forfeit of safety incentive for that particular month; second violation – immediate termination. Good Wheels has never terminated a driver for violation of the wireless policy.

Good Wheels has no audio or video in any vehicle.

Corrective Actions Good Wheels uses retraining and progressive discipline, which begins with a verbal warning, and is based on three times and out. No driver compartment adjustments have been proposed or made.

Restricted access (trespass) would be issued by local law enforcement, but Good Wheels has never had a trespass issued on their behalf.

The typical disruptive passenger will remove their seatbelt and get up and walk around in the moving vehicle. When this occurs, the driver must stop the vehicle immediately and attempt to get the person seat-belted again. If the passenger responds positively, the driver

Final Report 27

resumes the route, and no written report is made. If there is a delay due to passenger’s repeated refusal to return to his seat, the driver will call dispatch for assistance from the Operations Manager. If passenger responds positively, the driver will resume the route, and dispatch will contact the facility and notify them of the delay. If the passenger refuses to comply or becomes violent, dispatch will call 911. Responding local law enforcement would take custody of the passenger and determine the next course of action.

Final Report 28

Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority, Tampa, FL HART provides public transportation for Hillsborough County, Florida. Service includes fixed route local and express bus service, door-to-door paratransit service, flex-route neighborhood connector service, a version of bus rapid transit, and management of the TECO Line Streetcar System. The 2013 NTD agency profile is provided below.

Service Statistics - 2013 Directly Operated Demand Streetcar Bus Response Rail Annual Unlinked Passenger Trips 14,732,500 141,200 295,900

Annual Passenger Miles 73,720,700 1,002,700 516,100 Annual Vehicle Revenue Miles 7,598,800 1,253,200 66,800 Vehicle Operated in Maximum Service 158 36 3

Source: National Transit Database,Table 19, 2013.

Agency Procedures and Practices HART has a cross-training program for operators. Operators can volunteer to go to other modes. Pay rates are the same. Crossover from bus to demand response is easy, but demand response can only transfer to bus if certified (few are certified). Streetcar requires a higher level of competency. All hiring is done within the agency. Transfer to streetcar service is exempt from union rules because it is considered to be a special assignment.

Operators are unionized, and have three bid periods a year; however, they can only bid in their prime category (fixed route, paratransit, or streetcar).

Operators do get breaks via a layover (recovery) time of 5-15 minutes at the end of their route, during which they can have their lunch.

In an effort to improve the pool of bus operators hired, and therefore ensuring better success for the agency’s drivers, HART’s Human Resource Department is actively involved in the hiring process, including the use of ergo metric testing to identify those with higher customer service scores.

Training New operator training is eight weeks for bus, five weeks for demand response, and four weeks for streetcar rail. HART uses TSI’s bus operator training curriculum. Demand response receives more focused sensitivity training. HART requires drivers to take “The Critical Point” video training that is part of the Smith System (critical thinking, awareness of surroundings, enhancing the safety of existing drivers). Four hours of refresher training was provided each month, but HART is trying a new system where each person receives refresher training in their birthday month. Refresher training always addresses top safety issues and critical points.

Final Report 29

HART uses remedial training for topics including: advanced customer service, conflict de-escalation, and collision avoidance. Remedial training is mandatory after the 2nd preventable accident.

Customer Service If a driver has issues with customer service, he/she is brought in for advanced customer service training. In addition, as mentioned previously, HART also teaches de-escalation techniques when these issues are indicated.

Investigations and Incident Response If there is an incident/accident, the driver pulls over, calls, and waits for further instructions. If it is a serious accident or there are injuries, dispatch sends a supervisor. The supervisor gathers information, contacts a risk specialist and the safety officer. If there are injuries, the safety officer investigates, reviews photos, pulls video, and interviews the driver. The Accident Review Board includes the safety officer, who actually makes the final decision, a union representative, and an employee.

HART does record incidents that do not meet the thresholds for NTD reporting. HART maintains hard copies in the form of a “Summary of Occurrence Log” for all incidents and keeps logs on “significant” events.

Bus operators may use wireless devices, but they must be at the end of the line and off the bus. The first violation yields a 3-day suspension; a second violation results in termination.

All buses and transfer centers have video, but no audio. There are no cameras in demand response vehicles. Each HART bus is equipped with a panic button.

Corrective Actions In the event of an assault or other aggressive behavior by their employee, HART utilizes retraining and progressive discipline. Pursuant to the collective bargaining agreement (CBA), HART cannot modify an operator’s shift in response to the employee’s interaction with a passenger or fear of an operator assault by a passenger. HART will modify a route temporarily for specific issues, but not for a specific operator.

Local law enforcement will issue trespass, the requirements of which vary by jurisdiction from 180-days up to one year. Restricted access can be system-wide or specific to the transit center. Trespass at HART’s Marion Transit Center has primarily been issued for drug violations. The appeal process for a trespass requires that three staff members review the trespass and call the violator. The group can leave the trespass as is (30% of the time), remove the trespass (20% of the time), or shorten the trespass (50% of the time).

Disruptive groups include the homeless at Metro Rapid stations, which are patrolled by local law enforcement on weekends, and any violators may be removed. HART had provided transport for students from the North Tampa Alternative School and there had been instances of disruptive behavior, but the Hillsborough County School Board now provides transportation to these students.

Final Report 30

Safety Campaigns Safety campaigns include: an ongoing 5-minute safety talk for all shifts at all facilities; de- escalation training; HART facilitated ergonomic changes to the drivers’ compartment that included the installation of adjustable accelerator and brake pedals and upgraded seats to a more expensive model that includes better padding and lumbar support (HART bus operators were involved in these modifications, as well as in the design and layout of the driver cockpit).

Final Report 31

Jacksonville Transportation Authority, Jacksonville, FL JTA is the independent agency responsible for public transit in the city of Jacksonville, Florida and roadway infrastructure that connects northeast Florida. JTA provides regular bus service, express bus service, trolley- replica buses, paratransit, and the JTA Skyway, an automated people- mover system. The 2013 NTD agency profile is provided below.

Purchased Service Statistics - 2013 Directly Operated Transportation Automated Guideway Bus Demand Response Annual Unlinked Passenger Trips 1,079,200 11,220,200 378,500 Annual Passenger Miles 495,100 74,120,200 4,769,300 Annual Vehicle Revenue Miles 183,200 8,762,100 4,138,400 Vehicle Operated in Maximum Service 5 138 82

Source: National Transit Database,Table 19, 2013.

Agency Procedures and Practices JTA fixed route operators are Jax Transit Management Corporation employees, while demand response operators work directly for a private contractor. JTA employees are represented by three unions, and there are two picks each year based on seniority.

Operators have no lunch or bathroom breaks; however, JTA has a goal of 10 minutes recovery time at the end of each run. If operators need to use the bathroom, there are designated locations along the run. JTA’s planning office checks route timing, and safety and road supervisors routinely check bus routes and individual bus stops and address issues. If bus operators observe unsafe conditions, there is a mechanism to report these conditions through dispatch.

Training JTA’s Training Department is responsible for providing new bus operator training. Safety provides specialty training and performs NTD reporting and accident investigation. In addition, JTA’s Safety Office is responsible for oversight of data recording, tracking, and reporting. JTA is focusing on the continuous improvement if the training offered, both the training curriculum utilized in house and through the utilization of outside trainers. In Spring 2015, JTA invited the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office (JSO) to provide training to their operators on subjects including basic body language (posturing, threatening versus non-threatening), how to get yourself away from an attack, and verbal judo. JTA’s bus operators responded very favorably to the training provided. JTA recommended that other agencies work with their local law enforcement to see if a similar training could be provided to their bus operators.

Refresher training is provided quarterly with topics chosen based on the trends that are occurring and what is observed through video and LYTX Drive Cam. JTA also provides defensive driving, and staged a “would you let this guy on your bus at 11:30 pm if you are alone?” exercise. JTA does remedial training for accidents, and employees requiring remedial training are provided with a corrective action plan (CAP). Post-accident training is provided to bus operators and is documented.

Final Report 32

Customer Service JTA has a large transit dependent population and has found that sometimes drivers are less respectful of these individuals, so they focus on customer service during new operator, refresher and remedial training when necessary. JTA hired four new Service Managers. Each is assigned to a specific geographic area, supervises operators and supervisors, and works with operators to resolve complaints. All complaints come through the customer service line and are distributed to the Service Managers for follow-up and resolution. Customer management also responds when complaints are received. While the Safety Office does not interface with JTA’s customer service office, they do have access to any extracted video, which is reviewed. The customer complaint hotline number is posted in all vehicles. Complaints are reported to the JTA board monthly, and safety complaints are forwarded to safety.

Incident Response & Investigations When an incident occurs, the Safety Office collects as much information as possible, grades the accident, makes a preventable/non-preventable determination, and sends to operations for review. Safety may also recommend remedial training, if warranted. Operations works with the driver and the union to determine what action will be taken, and creates a corrective action plan that would incorporate and discipline and training prescribed. An operator who has four preventable accidents in 24 months will be terminated.

An independent adjuster is responsible for those incidents that have the potential for litigation. The adjusters issue separate accident reports (four to five adjusters are assigned per day). JTA also has a risk coordinator, who manages workers compensation claims. Supervisors are trained in accident investigation – TSI and internal training on preventability (based on the TSI standard).

Safety recently put together a new procedure that explains NTD reporting and identifies all information required. In JTA’s recent reorganization, a new position was created within JTA’s Human Resource Office that is responsible for compliance and risk management.

When asked about the method in place to allow for near miss or close call reporting, JTA indicated that their operators seem reluctant to share things with JTA’s Safety Office because they appear to be concerned that JTA will pull video and target them for investigation. This area of trust is one which JTA takes seriously and is working toward improving.

JTA has internal quarterly safety sessions. In addition, JTA safety has monthly meetings with police. Contract security personnel is used at eight Skyway stations and two main transfer stations.

If a fare evasion occurs, the driver calls dispatch to approve the ride. With minor incidents, the operator is instructed to make a brief call to dispatch. Eating and passenger distractions are big issues for JTA. Often times when there is an event, it is hard to tell if the operator is fatigued or if they are burdened by cognitive distractions. If it is a serious (major) incident, JTA will pull the driver’s record for the prior seven days to determine if the driver’s schedule may have led or contributed to fatigue.

Final Report 33

JTA operators can carry personal wireless devices, but cannot use them while the vehicle is in motion or while the operator is sitting in the driver’s seat. Operators are terminated for violating the wireless device policy.

All JTA vehicles have audio and video, which is pulled and reviewed for incidents, accidents, and complaints. 50 buses have the LYTX Drive Cam, which allows for individual coaching when there is an event. The system monitors seat belt use and other on-board behavior, incorporates telemetry technology, and identifies multiple categories of events, e.g., following too closely, hard braking, erratic maneuvering, etc. It also includes locational tracking, and can be used to make a case for termination before there is an accident. However, JTA said there are obvious limitations with this and it must be addressed in the CBA. JTA has seen a decrease in claims and insurance, but the system is expensive. Reports can be exported to excel, and incidents tracked by employee badge number. JTA projects that Drive Cam yielded a 40 percent reduction in unsafe driving decisions over the course of a year.

Corrective Actions JTA uses progressive discipline – 1-day suspension; 3-day suspension; and termination. Policies are outlined in the Operator’s Rule Book. If there are issues with a driver on a particular shift (incidents with specific riders), they may be provided with a shift modification. JTA was uncertain if an operator’s shift or route has ever been modified; however, they may be looking into it, as there are some places where the fire department is not allowed to go without a police escort. JTA is looking at moving stops in high crime areas – either moving the stops completely or reducing the span of service (late night eliminated), as long as they remain compliant with Title VI. While bus operators have discussed the use of driver barriers/cages, they do not use them due to feedback from operators who describe feeling trapped and/or secluded from passengers.

JTA has two officers staged at Rosa Parks Terminal (contracted with off duty JSO officers – the contract term is generally one year). JTA authorizes JSO to issue a trespass, which restricts an individual’s access system-wide for one year. While there is a current appeal process for trespass, JTA is looking at ways to institute a variable length (30, 60, 180-days) for trespass. Appeals come to JTA via a written request. The appeals committee (customer service, EEO, and operations participate) schedules a hearing to provide an opportunity for the individual to share their version of the story or state a hardship. The committee either maintains or rescinds the decision. The appeals committee can give direction on remedial training if an employee had a part in the conflict. There are more individuals trespassed for incidents committed off of the bus than on the bus.

JTA does have issues with homeless individuals – one of the area’s homeless shelters is next to the Rosa Parks Terminal, but the JSO does help keep individuals moving along. There are events that occur periodically with intoxicated individuals, specifically those using the summer beach trolleys. When this does occur, the local beach community police departments are notified and they generally respond. JTA also has issues with unruly behavior, specifically with students from a few alternative schools. JTA met with school administrators, and they are working together to solve the issues. One thing they have been able to do that seems to have helped is modified school release times to

Final Report 34

allow for staggering. This prevents large groups of students congregating at bus stops and seems to have reduced incidents. In an effort to curtail additional issues, JTA, the Department of Juvenile Justice, and JSO went to the school and discussed the consequences of the students’ behavior. JTA said that these external stakeholder partnerships are crucial, and indicated that they have worked with JSO and other local law enforcement to Baker Act violent or aggressive people. JTA has also requested victimization/crime data from JSO for areas within ½ mile radius around stops to identify areas of significant criminal activity that may result in increased safety threats for the agency and their riders.

Safety Campaigns In November 2015, JTA kicked-off a distracted driver training program. Other campaigns have included a “fixed object campaign,” and asked operators how the define “distracted” and reduce incidents due to “distractions.” JTA placed monitors in the drivers’ lounge for messages and safety bulletins. Safety certificates and pins are awarded annually.

Final Report 35

Lakeland Area Mass Transit District, d.b.a., Citrus Connection, Lakeland, FL Citrus Connection is the public transportation service provider in Lakeland, Florida. The system operates fixed route and paratransit service in the Lakeland area, including service provided for Winter Haven Area Transit to the neighboring cities of Auburndale, Winter Haven, and Bartow. The 2013 NTD agency profile is provided below.

Service Statistics - 2013 Directly Operated Bus Demand Response Annual Unlinked Passenger Trips 1,224,600 94,100 Annual Passenger Miles 6,385,700 577,000 Annual Vehicle Revenue Miles 968,900 364,300 Vehicle Operated in Maximum Service 22 12

Source: National Transit Database,Table 19, 2013.

Agency Procedures and Practices Citrus Connection has some crossover between fixed route and demand response operators, including the extra board.

Training Customer service training includes the agency’s expectations of employees when dealing with the public, and instruction on how and to whom to report security incidents and types of individuals or situations to be aware of and report. Citrus Connection developed and maintains an Operator Development Training Program for new hire training and testing of employees. Conflict resolution and avoidance are included in the training. Refresher training is conducted a minimum of every two years.

Citrus Connection requires remedial training for drivers who have been involved in a preventable accident or have developed unsafe driving behavior or other driving problems, when identified. Other causes for remedial training may include: persistent customer complaints, supervisor recommendations, and as a result of ongoing evaluations.

Customer Service Data on passenger claims and complaints are collected and retained by Citrus Connection on an ongoing basis. The data are analyzed by Citrus Connection management, and analysis results are useful for identifying necessary actions to minimize safety risks and help to improve system performance. Courtesy cards are located on every bus as a method for obtaining customer feedback (these are also used when incidents occur). The supervisor reviews the complaint, calls the complainant, records the complaint in the complaint database, and forwards the complaint to the safety officer. The safety officer reviews and returns to supervisor for more follow-up or files. The safety officer reviews the complaint database as each new incident occurs.

Final Report 36

Incident Response Placards are posted on Citrus Connection buses detailing that passenger assaults are a violation of state law. Operators are prohibited from using the radio while the vehicle is in motion. When an incident occurs, the operator is instructed to call dispatch, and dispatch calls the supervisor or safety hotline (safety officer) to determine if the operator should stay or proceed. In cases of aggressive behavior, if the operator is not comfortable defusing the situation, a supervisor will respond and interview the passenger. If the bus is delayed longer than 10 minutes, a replacement bus is sent and passengers are off loaded and transferred. The operator must complete an incident report at the end of the shift. The safety officer reviews and returns to the supervisor for more follow-up or files. The safety officer reviews consumer reports (and records in the incident database) as each new incident occurs. In the case of fare evasion, the passenger is denied the trip and police are called. For unruly passengers, the operator completes an incident report at the end of the shift and the supervisor reviews and follows up to verify. Each incident is added to the incident database by the safety officer.

Investigations Accident and incident data are collected and retained by Citrus Connection on an ongoing basis. Data are analyzed by Citrus Connection management both qualitatively and quantitatively for safety hazard identification, resolution, and risk management purposes. Analysis results are useful for identifying necessary actions to minimize safety risks and also help improve system performance, not only in respect to safety, but also in overall delivery of service to the public. Citrus Connection has a separate report for collisions.

All supervisors are accident investigators. Local law enforcement officers receive 8 hours of accident investigation training, and supervisors receive a minimum of 40 hours of TSI accident investigation training. Post-accident, the supervisor reviews the video and interviews the operator. The safety officer reviews and determines responsibility, updates the accident database, forwards to risk management, and completes the NTD report.

Citrus Connection provides security at the Lakeland Terminal. The terminal coordinator contacts local police, when necessary. Each bus is equipped with audio and video, and all available audio and video are reviewed as part of the investigative process.

Corrective Actions Citrus Connection has a trespass policy in place, which is authorized by the safety office and handled by the Lakeland Police Department (or other jurisdictional authorities). Three trespasses were authorized in 2014. A passenger can request that the trespass be lifted.

Citrus Connection logs nearly 17,000 student transports annually. The safety officer meets with representatives from all of the schools on a regular basis. When a student is trespassed, the school supports transit’s decision. There is no written appeal process, but a student can appeal a trespass in writing. Citrus Connection uses security on random bus routes to monitor teenagers’ behavior.

Final Report 37

Safety Campaigns Citrus Connection have staged various demonstrations at the main terminal in Lakeland, including a bike safety demonstration and a wheelchair securement demonstration.

Final Report 38

Lee Tran, Ft. Myers, FL Lee Tran is the transit bus service operated by the Lee County Transit Department, providing service to Bonita Springs, Cape Coral, Fort Myers, Fort Myers Beach, and much of the unincorporated area of Lee County, Florida. The 2013 NTD agency profile is provided below.

Purchased Service Statistics - 2013 Directly Operated Transportation

Demand Bus Response Vanpool Annual Unlinked Passenger Trips 4,075,300 104,300 44,600 Annual Passenger Miles 23,636,500 1,119,100 1,747,900 Annual Vehicle Revenue Miles 3,025,100 1,189,700 244,500 Vehicle Operated in Maximum Service 48 35 11 Source: National Transit Database,Table 19, 2013.

Agency Procedures and Practices Based on seniority, Lee Tran operators pick days off and hours three times a year.

Training New operators receive a minimum of 64 hours of new bus operator training that includes a review of Lee County and Lee Tran policies and procedures, fare-box training, customer service, and responding to emergencies. In addition to classroom training, new operators receive a minimum of 32 hours of vehicle orientation and training. Upon successful completion of classroom instruction and vehicle orientation training, drivers complete an additional 120 hours of supervised on-the-job and on-the-road route training. The Deputy Director visits every new employee class.

All Lee Tran operators are required to complete an annual re-fresher course, which includes reviews of defensive driving techniques and/or substance abuse as the main topic. Refresher courses also include targeted training goals, which focus on safety and include, at a minimum, de-escalation techniques and conflict resolution.

Remedial training is provided on an as-needed basis and is specific to the operator’s need targeted at correcting a deficiency. Remedial training may include classroom instruction, supervised operating, or other instructional guidance and actions, as deemed necessary. The employee’s participation and performance in the remedial training is documented.

Customer Service If a passenger has a complaint with the driver, the condition of the bus, or with Lee Tran in general while on board, the passenger is separated from the driver to control the situation and responding supervisors offer reasonable resolutions to both the operator and the passenger. Unruly passengers may be given a ride to their destination, if removed from the bus (one time only per passenger), to give the supervisor the opportunity to discuss the incident and remind the passenger of Lee Tran policies. Comment cards are available on all vehicles. Lee Tran’s Deputy Director of Safety, Security, Customer Service, Facilities, and Fixed Route Operations guides the

Final Report 39

investigation of serious complaints and alleged assaults. Lee County is moving toward a county-wide complaint system using a web-based database that creates a ticket that is routed to the appropriate department.

Incident Response & Investigations For all events, drivers are required to contact local law enforcement, dispatch, and emergency medical services, as required, immediately. Supervisors are sent to the scene depending upon the severity of the event at the discretion of the senior supervisor. Each investigation is documented in a final report that includes: a description of the investigation activities, identified causal factors, and any identified corrective action plan. Each corrective action plan identifies the action to be taken. The senior supervisor monitors and tracks the implementation of each corrective action plan. A Crime Tracking Report is completed.

The use of a personal wireless communication device is prohibited while the transit vehicle is in motion. All personal wireless communication devices must be turned off with any earpieces removed from the operator’s ear while occupying the driver’s seat. In an emergency, a personal cellular phone may be used to contact the agency. In such a situation, the driver must park the vehicle in a safe place of the road and call the direct line to the dispatcher.

Lee Tran developed a comprehensive database system that is designed to store and access all data in an electronic format. Lee Tran’s electronic report formatting is highlighted as a “best practice.”

All vehicles have audio and video surveillance systems, which are reviewed for all incidents and complaints.

Lee Tran currently employs an off-duty police officer to provide security for the Rosa Parks Transfer Center, whose hours vary by time of day and day of week. Lee Tran participates in Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response (VIPR) drills provided by Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Transportation Security Administration (TSA) two times a year. Lee Tran established mutual aid agreements with police jurisdictions, which has a created a proactive atmosphere in preparing for and responding to safety, security, or emergency management events. Lee Tran allows police to use the new Lee Tran facility, which increases the police presence in the neighborhood.

Corrective Actions Lee Tran uses retraining, remedial training and progressive discipline. An actual review of the video pulled from the vehicle is included in remedial training provided to a driver. Progressive discipline is guided by the Deputy Director, and includes a verbal warning and coaching as the first steps. Lee Tran will consider shift modifications if a regular passenger is a nuisance to the operator. There has never been a need to modify a route, nor have there been adjustments to the driver-compartment.

Lee Tran responds immediately to all types of disruptive behavior to resolve conflicts and eliminate continuation of the negative behavior. Boisterous or unruly behavior is a violation of Lee Tran policy. If requested by the driver, these passengers will be

Final Report 40

contacted and counseled regarding their behavior. If the behavior continues, they will be considered for a trespass warning. A supervisor responds, when possible, to mitigate these incidents and support the operator. Restricted access (trespass) can be used for the following repeat behaviors: evasion of the payment of fares; misuse of passes or tickets; playing sound equipment without the use of headphones; smoking, eating, or drinking with unauthorized containers; opening emergency windows and/or hanging out of windows; throwing objects or substances; expectorating or willfully committing any other unsanitary act; gambling; use of profanity, obscene gestures, yelling or screaming while in Lee Tran facilities or vehicles; vandalizing or defacing Lee Tran property; and willfully committing any other act made unlawful by Florida Statute or Federal Law. The length of the restriction is up to 365 days for a noncriminal act. The trespass is issued by local law enforcement. A passenger can appeal a trespass, but the Deputy Director will meet with and counsel them before the trespass will be lifted. If a person returns after 4-5 months and poses no issues, the agency reinstates their access.

Lee Tran does not contract with schools to provide local school bus service, but does offer discount bus passes. Marketing works with the schools, and if there are issues with unruly or aggressive behavior, marketing staff will go to the school and discuss the issues with school administrators.

Safety Campaigns Lee Tran holds three Safety Awareness Days each year. One is a large, community event with vendors and police in attendance. The others focus on safety information and prizes.

Final Report 41

Manatee County Area Transit, Bradenton, FL MCAT is the public transportation service provider for Manatee County, Florida. MCAT provides fixed route bus service and dial-a-ride paratransit service. The 2013 NTD agency profile is provided below.

Service Statistics - 2013 Directly Operated Demand Bus Response Annual Unlinked Passenger Trips 1,780,500 84,700 Annual Passenger Miles 8,689,700 792,000 Annual Vehicle Revenue Miles 1,234,900 550,900 Vehicle Operated in Maximum Service 19 22

Source: National Transit Database,Table 19, 2013.

Agency Procedures and Practices At the present time, a handful of MCAT operators cross over between fixed route and demand response; however, MCAT’s goal is to cross train every operator. MCAT’s non- unionized operators participate in run assignments one time each year. Open routes are available for selection on a first-come basis. Fixed route operators have no scheduled lunch or bathroom breaks. Paratransit drivers do receive breaks, and there is recovery time of approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes per shift.

Training The Smith System is utilized for new bus operator training (also required if there is an accident or “citizen action complaint”). Initial driver training and testing includes information on handling emergencies, security threats, and threat awareness. All newly hired employees are also provided instructional training by the training manager. Instruction in MCAT rules and standard operating procedures is provided to drivers in the following areas: general rules, customer service, fare handling, and radio procedures. The transit manager, a private contractor, and the safety manager developed a refresher course that covers all aspects of MCAT operations. Refresher training is conducted annually for all drivers and includes blood-borne pathogens, security, hazards, and accident procedures. Distracted driving is MCAT’s biggest public transit issue; the safety manager has begun focusing on “near misses,” specifically, the correlation between hard braking and passenger falls. Remedial training and testing is completed on a case-by-case basis, as determined by the training manager.

Customer Service It is not uncommon to review the video tape of the incident with an operator who has received a complaint, although MCAT indicated they have few customer complaints. The MCAT Bikes on Buses Policy (each bus has only 2 bike racks) allows an operator to “challenge the policy” and may allow folding bikes on buses if the bike rack is full. Similarly, if all wheelchair slots are in use, the operator can call dispatch and request that paratransit respond to the site to accommodate a wheelchair customer.

Final Report 42

Incident Response & Investigations For all events, drivers are required to stop the bus, open the door, and call dispatch. The driver describes the incident to dispatch, which authorizes continuation on the route, or may send a road supervisor and/or call the police in the case of an emergency. Following the incident, the driver must complete an incident report, which is reviewed by the supervisor and forwarded to either the fixed route or paratransit superintendent. The appropriate superintendent will immediately pull the video tape, complete a report, and forward the report to the operations chief.

The safety manager is notified of accidents, and will respond to the scene, depending on the severity and anticipated duration of road blockage or closure. The operations chief reviews all accident/incident reports and makes the preventable/non-preventable determination. The final package is referred to the Safety Committee for review. The Safety Committee is staffed by the following: operations chief, safety manager, division manager, fixed-route superintendent, paratransit superintendent, and the logistics manager, and meets as a group on a weekly basis, reviews accidents and incidents, and has authority to overturn preventable/non-preventable decisions. Safety meetings are also held with office staff. The safety manager prepares summaries of new safety topics, which are placed in a binder. Staff is required to sign-off after reviewing. Manatee County Risk Management receives all incidents reports and conducts all necessary investigations. Audio and video are reviewed in all accident/incident investigations.

MCAT has a live camera feed at three transfer stations and the administration building; additional signage is being produced to inform the public of the presence of the cameras. All fixed route and demand response vehicles have audio, video, and AVL; however, fixed route AVL is not operational.

Use of a personal wireless communication device is prohibited while the transit vehicle is in motion and can result in a five-day suspension.

Corrective Actions MCAT uses progressive discipline, and has removed an operator from a route due to conflict with a passenger. Driver-compartment adjustments were requested at one time, but there currently is no interest. MCAT does use restricted access (trespass). After an incident, the video is reviewed and if an assault occurred, local law enforcement would trespass the individual from the entire system for one year. No one has ever asked to rescind a trespass, but MCAT would consider easing the restriction. MCAT has no problems with unruly students. MCAT does not provide school bus service, but has a fare waiver in place with several local colleges. MCAT does have an ongoing problem with homeless persons at transfer stations and with religious groups distributing unsolicited information.

Safety Campaigns Two significant safety campaigns MCAT has undertaken include the development and distribution of the brochure “Would You Assault Your Bank Teller?” In addition, the county’s Your Choice Health Insurance offers a major incentive for employees to get and stay healthy with the overall goal of improving safety related issues such as fatigue, illness, and distraction.

Final Report 43

Miami-Dade Transit, Miami, FL MDT is the public transportation provider for the Miami, Florida urbanized area. MDT provides bus, heavy rail, demand response, and monorail/automated guideway transit services. MDT is the designated Community Transportation Coordinator for Miami Dade County (MDC). The 2013 NTD agency profile is provided below.

Service Statistics - 2013 Directly Operated Purchased Transportation Automated Demand Guideway Heavy Rail Bus Bus Response Annual Unlinked Passenger Trips 9,643,700 21,198,700 78,500,800 392,100 1,706,900 Annual Passenger Miles 9,472,300 155,169,100 414,639,900 27,661,300 21,753,900 Annual Vehicle Revenue Miles 1,222,400 7,884,800 28,366,300 569,800 14,680,000 Vehicle Operated in Maximum Service 21 78 692 7 336

Source: National Transit Database,Table 19, 2013.

Agency Procedures and Practices MDT fixed route operators are MDC employees, while demand response operators work directly for a private contractor. Fixed route operators are unionized, and there are two picks (June and November) each year based on seniority. Prior to the bids and biweekly, MDT checks operator drive times on each route. If there is a complaint, planning checks the route, using AVL playbacks, and supervisors go out into the field. The union meets with MDT planning prior to route picks to identify those routes that may have timing issues. Fixed route operators have no scheduled lunch break, and recovery time is declining.

Training Bus Operations provides all operator training in-house utilizing TSI training curriculum, while safety provides specific safety-related information. The new bus operator training program lasts for 10 weeks. Refresher training is completed two times a year, before picks. It is always electronic, focuses on ADA, and has a special emphasis on frequent issues. During their semi-annual refresher training, trainers cover areas that are problematic and those safety occurrences identified as becoming common. Every operator with a previous incident gets remedial training. Running a red light results in a deduction of safety points, the use of progressive discipline, and can result in remedial training.

Customer Service MDT’s philosophy that “everyone pays the fare” creates multiple avenues for complaints, particularly, because MDT does not want operators fighting with passengers over the fare, and because MDT does not want the bus delayed. The operator can call and ask to have a supervisor dispatched.

Incident Response & Investigations MDT supervisors have received TSI’s accident investigation course. When an incident occurs, bus traffic control (in operations) dispatches a supervisor, 911, fire department, and risk management, as needed/required. The operations supervisor conducts the investigation for non-major incidents. Safety conducts the investigation of major incidents. Reports

Final Report 44

generated throughout each investigation has a specific Incident Report (IR) number that helps with tracking. The Accident Review Board meets every month. Members of the board include: two bus operators, bus operations instructor (chair), and a maintenance supervisor. Each case is anonymous (bus operator is not named). Preventability determinations are made utilizing National Safety Council guidelines. The board makes a decision and issues a report to bus operations with the severity of the accident determining the corrective action, i.e., a serious accident can result in termination. Safety does all NTD reporting, tracks accidents, and completes a trend analysis. County risk management takes care of everything associated with risk. In the event an incident results in the transport of an individual away from the scene for medical purposes, MDC assumes responsibility for claims, litigation, etc. If a bus operator seeks compensation or takes legal action against the agency for injuries sustained due to an incident, the MDT risk management department handles the claim

All MDT buses are equipped with audio, video, and CAD/AVL. MDT uses 4-way flashers before a stop, and is currently preparing the infrastructure to allow auto/remote data downloads from vehicle systems.

MDT has a MDC police unit dedicated to MDT, but they have to pay for their services. Contract security personnel are located at major bus terminals and mover and rail stations. MDT has had officers ride particular routes when there were issues.

In the past, MDT terminated employees for violation of the wireless policy. Personal devices must be stored, and may only be used out of the seat, when the radio is broken. The 1st violation results in a 15-day suspension; 2nd violation yields a 20-day suspension; and, 3rd violation results in termination. Beginning December 1, 2015, MDT will return to their previous policy, and the 1st violation will result in termination.

Corrective Actions Retraining is always used by MDT. If an event is categorized as preventable, the bus operator is automatically retrained. Progressive discipline is used; superintendents make the determination on the nature of the discipline. MDT has modified an operator’s shift, and would modify a driver’s route assignment to ensure an operator’s safety. MDT started installing driver compartments in 1997, and they are installed in all buses except one model (MCI). Modifications have eliminated passengers groping female operators.

MDT considers restricted access a police issue, and it is only used on the rail system. The Golden Passport can be pulled for a year, but MDT tries to avoid this option.

Miami students receive a discount pass. MDC police go to schools if there are issues. The homeless qualify for the Golden Passport, but are required to register. MDT has had problems with the homeless at rail stations, where they are now required to pay at the end of the line.

Safety Campaigns MDT encourages everyone to submit Service Improvement Reports. MDT wants feedback so they ask that people identify themselves. Reports are reviewed monthly by operations and

Final Report 45

safety. Anyone can also submit an online Safety Concern (named or anonymous), which goes to safety, and safety forwards it to operations. MDT has undertaken injury and distracted driving poster campaigns. MDT issues safe driving awards and a “New Rule of the Week” on various topics (e.g., lots of pedestrian accidents in an area). MDT plans to set up mirror stations at one of their garages in an effort to ensure bus operator visibility of his surroundings.

Final Report 46

Palm Tran, West Palm Beach, FL Palm Tran is the public transportation system run by the Palm Beach County Government, serving Palm Beach County, Florida. Palm Tran provides fixe route bus service and shared ride, door to door, paratransit service throughout the county. The 2013 NTD agency profile is provided below.

Service Statistics - 2013 Directly Operated Purchased Transportation Demand Demand Bus Response Response-Taxi Annual Unlinked Passenger Trips 12,018,200 686,100 267,800 Annual Passenger Miles 74,588,100 7,967,200 4,123,000 Annual Vehicle Revenue Miles 7,124,200 6,135,400 3,172,300

Vehicle Operated in Maximum Service 123 190 73

Source: National Transit Database,Table 19, 2013.

Agency Procedures and Practices Palm Tran fixed route operators are Palm Beach County (PBC) employees, while demand response operators work directly for a private contractor. Fixed route operators are unionized, and there are three picks (December, April, and August) each year based on seniority. Planning, operations, and the union complete route checks prior to picks.

Training New operator training includes four hours in-house and four hours hands-on training per week for three weeks. Individuals are exposed to the transit bus on the first day of training, and operate the bus on an obstacle course in the yard. If comfortable, on the second day, new operators do left/right turn movements on the street. Topics included in operator training are fare handling (in fare disputes, the first time, drivers are instructed to simply “state the fare” and let the customer ride; the second time – let them ride; the third time, a supervisor is dispatched); FEMA-work place safety; computer based training modules (CBTs) from the Center for Urban Transportation Research (CUTR); pedestrian awareness; customer service; farebox; AVL; and, safety and security. PBC provides drug and alcohol training; Palm Tran reviews consequences and transit agency policies. During driver training, Risk Management gives a presentation about claims and what happens when there is a preventable/chargeable accident. The assistant executive director, the union, and maintenance also make presentations on relevant topics. Drivers receive an Employee Handbook and meet with supervisors and communications staff. Remedial training is automatic after every accident.

Customer Service Palm Tran has a dedicated customer call-in line through Palm Tran Connection (paratransit). When calls come in, information is disseminated to the appropriate Palm Tran section. Palm Tran uses courtesy cards for accidents, and customers can post comments on Facebook.

Final Report 47

Incident Response & Investigations The safety department reports to the general manager and is responsible for bus operator training, maintenance training, supervisor training, as well as annual refresher training. Safety is currently developing a new annual refresher course on fixed object collision avoidance.

When an accident occurs, the bus operator pulls the bus over and calls dispatch. The driver indicates if medical assistance is needed, if so, dispatch calls EMS/Police. A supervisor is dispatched to the site to investigate and prepare reports. The supervisor must complete the form and submit it on the same day of event. The supervisor must also take photos from all angles. All supervisors (except those recently hired) have taken TSI’s Fundamentals of Bus Collision Investigation course; a few have taken the advanced course. Audio is pulled, and the video pull comes via email. The operator continues on the route, if able, but must complete an incident report within 24 hours.

Accident Review Board members include: operations, safety, county risk management, and county employees. Following an incident, the board interviews the driver; reviews audio and video with driver; determines preventability using TSI guidelines and personal experience; and, incorporates progressive discipline based on severity of incident.

Palm Tran scans and sends all information, including video, to risk management (county has a site for sharing video; audio is never released). Risk management handles all litigation, tracks accidents and workers’ compensation, and maintains a database of events that Palm Tran staff utilizes to identify training needs. Twice a year, risk management sends an accident status report to Palm Tran.

Palm Tran has a Safety Committee that meets quarterly. Members include: assistant manager of operations; Deputy Director of fixed route; North County, South County, and Bell Glades operations personnel; maintenance manager; a maintenance technician; North County and South County supervisors; and a union representative. The safety and training officer chairs the Safety Committee.

Palm Tran operators can carry wireless devices, but they must be stored. The operator must be out of seat or off the bus to use. The 1st violation is a 1-day suspension, the 2nd violation is a 2-day suspension, and the 3rd violation is a 4-day suspension. Palm Tran has terminated for violation of the policy, and it was upheld in arbitration.

Each bus has 7 to 12 cameras. Buses also have panic buttons to alert Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office/West Palm Beach Police Department that there is an event/potential threat. Palm Tran has contracted security at all facilities plus their intermodal terminal, which also has city-owned video.

Corrective Actions The Palm Beach County General Counsel had a problem with restricted access (trespass), and as a result, the penalty was recently changed from one-year system-wide trespass to one-route for 90-days. Palm Tran issues the trespass with police assistance.

Final Report 48

Palm Tran had some problems with disruptive students from a middle school and a high school. Palm Tran staff and local school representatives met and were able to resolve the issues they were experiencing. Homeless people are a problem at bus stops and shelters, but law enforcement does assist in moving individuals along. Palm Tran requires new payment at the beginning of each route, and does transport the homeless to shelters when cold weather strikes.

Safety Campaigns Palm Tran is still working on language for “Be Patient” stickers for the back of buses. They have installed monitors and plan to post safety messages and videos. Beginning in 2016, Palm Tran will begin issuing safety awards.

Final Report 49

Pasco County Public Transportation, Port Richey, FL PCPT is the public transportation provider for Pasco County, Florida. PCPT provides fixed route bus service and paratransit service throughout Pasco County. The 2013 NTD agency profile is provided below.

Purchased Service Statistics - 2013 Directly Operated Transportation Demand Demand Bus Response Response-Taxi Annual Unlinked Passenger Trips 1,003,600 29,900 48,800 Annual Passenger Miles 7,726,200 250,800 442,700 Annual Vehicle Revenue Miles 1,302,100 189,200 442,700

Vehicle Operated in Maximum Service 18 11 37

Source: National Transit Database,Table 19, 2013.

Agency Procedures and Practices PCPT allows some crossover between fixed route and demand response operators; however, a CDL is required. Fixed route and demand response operators are unionized; however, only fixed route has picks, which occur every four-months based on seniority and attendance. PCPT has low operator turnover due to a competitive salary. Operators are drawn from the school board, who pays better, but employees only work 9 months. There is no fixed route lunch break, but operators do have recovery time at the end of the route. PCPT constantly monitors route timing. If an operator complains about route time, the manager will drive the route in a bus; the manager drives a minimum of one-route each month. No outside employment is permitted. Applicants for bus driver positions must have their Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) and a minimum of 12-months commercial driving experience.

Training New operators receive four days of training, and spend some time the first day in a vehicle, starting with a paratransit vehicle. Drivers are actually strapped into a wheelchair and driven around to experience the ride and are required to ride several routes. Prior to hire, drivers are asked to donate three hours of their time to ride with a paratransit driver on a route in an effort to demonstrate the level of customer service skills necessary for their positions. PCPT tries to place drivers on routes generally known to have difficult passengers/situations to ensure realistic expectations and awareness of situations that may occur.

PCPT conducts quarterly and annual employee evaluations; each employee has goals, which are tracked. There is a dash cam of each route available, and the operator must be able to show proficiency with each route. Everyone, including PCPT’s administrative staff, receives training: disruptive passenger training (de- escalation and body language); sensitivity training; fare handling (operator can issue change cards that can be used at a later date – great customer service issue, passengers often leave for someone less fortunate). The operator can advise customer without fare to “have a seat – I’ll take care of it;” one day with no fare

Final Report 50

was described as “okay”, and indicated that could also be allowed if there are multiple occurrences. PCPT will be utilizing the Smith System moving forward. Operators receive county sensitivity training, and the manager provides transit sensitivity training.

PCPT provides refresher training annually in October. Topics include: reasonable suspicion, fires, evacuations, customer service (provided by Pasco County), wheelchair guidelines and securement, NSC defensive driving, First Aid/CPR (all buses have AED – 2 lives saved last year). Refresher training is tied to the local bus roadeo, and is also treated as an employee appreciation day. Remedial training is provided based on the manager’s determination that the operator could benefit from the training.

Customer Service For customer complaints, the shop steward can sit in the investigation, which is conducted by five supervisors and two lead drivers. The operator is closely monitored, and disciplinary action occurs only after the operator has received several complaints. Each supervisor must complete 10 monitors (street + video) a week.

Incident Response & Investigations All drivers completed the newly released Chapter 14-90, FAC CBT training; a supervisor reviewed information with them in advance of the training. Operators are required to wait for the elderly and little kids to sit down (normally, the standard is cross the standee line and the bus moves) before the bus moves, and cannot close the door until ready to move. In the case of an accident, the operator pulls over and calls dispatch; dispatch/supervisor responds immediately; the manager or supervisor responds to an accident if more than minor (95% of events). The driver is pulled for the remainder of the day and is required to watch a NSC training video. An at-fault accident results in immediate termination. The manager looks at routes with multiple accidents and assembles the information for operators. PCPT issues courtesy cards.

Members of the Safety Committee include: the lead supervisor, operations manager, director, driver, and a union representatives. PCPT is strict with bus operators because they are considered to be professional drivers. The committee reviews reports, police reports, video, and audio. The county discontinued its accident review board, and now relies on transit to complete the investigation. County risk management does not track accidents or provide information to transit.

PCPT has no paid security staff.

All fixed route and demand response vehicles have audio and audio, including side-view cameras. The manager uses video extensively to identify problems. PCPT can see bus stops with cameras – the manager can log in live to view what is occurring.

Corrective Actions PCPT has incorporated a bi-monthly improvement process at each operational location. They address the question, “What can we do to improve?” The manager serves as

Final Report 51

the facilitator, ten ideas are prioritized, and the manager posts and tracks results. Every operational issue that is introduced is addressed.

PCPT had one trespass six years ago. It was the manager’s decision in conjunction with Pasco County Sheriff’s Office. Trespass is forever, but the manager can rescind after 12- months.

PCPT issues free passes (50 a month) to alternative schools. If there is a complaint, the school revokes the pass and the student is required to pay full fare. The manager communicates regularly with the schools, and the school director visits transit. They have established a great working relationship.

The county provides reduced fare passes to homeless shelters. The homeless can ride all day as long as they pay for each new route. The Pasco County Sheriff’s Office, Homeless Division provides assistance at the transfer center, which is a busy stop. PCPT has high-use areas power-washed every day.

Personal wireless devices must be turned off and stowed, not on the operator. A second violation of the wireless policy results in termination.

Safety Campaigns Safe driver awards are issued for a minimum of 25,000 miles accident or incident free. PCPT has a 5-10 minute safety meeting every shift; each driver must sign-off. The manager tries to do one safety broadcast over the radio every day. PCPT established a close call reporting system for operators. PCPT holds a training day in October in conjunction with the local roadeo and County Appreciation Day. PCPT moved all bus stops to the far side, and is re-evaluating the number and spacing of bus stops on US 19 – they intend to remove eight stops. In addition, PCPT will install bus pull outs on the Highway 54 corridor.

Final Report 52

Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority, St. Petersburg, FL PSTA is the public transportation provider for Pinellas County, Florida. PSTA provides bus, express bus, demand response, and demand response-taxi transit services. PSTA is the designated Community Transportation Coordinator for Pinellas County. The 2013 NTD agency profile is provided below.

Service Statistics - 2013 Directly Operated Purchased Transportation Commuter Demand Demand Bus Bus Bus Response Response-Taxi Annual Unlinked Passenger Trips 13,382,700 108,600 659,200 149,200 167,800 Annual Passenger Miles 65,145,000 1,138,200 3,255,000 744,100 1,261,000 Annual Vehicle Revenue Miles 8,423,800 224,000 426,000 1,513,500 1,385,600 Vehicle Operated in Maximum Service 156 6 17 60 53

Source: National Transit Database,Table 19, 2013.

Agency Procedures and Practices PSTA fixed route operators are Pinellas County employees, while demand response operators work directly for a private contractor. Fixed route operators and supervisors are unionized, and they bid every four months, based solely on seniority. The express service route is part of the bid. Fixed route operators have no scheduled lunch break, but do have recovery time available at the end of each route.

Training New operator training consists of eight weeks of training, including one week with an operator. Training topics include: general agency rules, reality-based customer service, fare handling, radio procedures, emergencies, and security threats. Refresher training is completed annually. PSTA is currently working on training their operators to train new drivers. TSI programs are used, and PSTA is developing an in-house course on de-escalation (body language and empathy). PSTA contracted with a group from New York to provide customer service training.

Remedial training is incident specific. A computerized program is available for defensive driving skill training. The Smith System is used for an operator who has a second preventable accident. PSTA can refer an operator to an “incident behaviorist counselor” with the employee assistance program (EAP), if warranted.

Incident Response & Investigations If an incident occurs, the operator calls dispatch. Dispatch calls 911 and the supervisor, who takes over the scene. If there is a serious injury, the dispatcher calls safety and risk management. The operator prepares a report for safety. The supervisor investigates the accident, and within four hours must submit a report to safety. Safety investigates the scene, and then risk management takes control, and meets with the operator and determines if the operator is at fault.

Final Report 53

The Accident Review Board consists of three safety supervisors, each of whom completes an accident review form. The union requires that the operator has a right to discovery and to be present at the review board.

PSTA has unarmed contract security at PSTA terminals.

Operators are permitted to use personal wireless devices once they are stopped and out of the bus. The first violation of the wireless use policy results in a 2-day suspension. The operator is terminated if a second violation occurs within 2 years.

All buses have audio and video. PSTA is installing audio and video in supervisors’ vehicles.

Corrective Actions PSTA uses retraining and progressive discipline, but has not modified an operator’s shift or route or made changes to the driver-compartment.

Restricted access (trespass) is a police issue that is an ongoing conflict. PSTA currently can issue a trespass for only one location, and is attempting to broaden trespass to system- wide. The length of trespass depends on jurisdiction: the St. Petersburg Police Department will issue either a six months or one year trespass, and the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office issues trespasses for 6 months, as examples. PSTA typically will drop the trespass after six months if the person asks to have it removed.

There are several schools close to bus stops. PSTA regularly visits the schools and reports that they are quite supportive in addressing any issues with their students. PSTA has a minor problem with the homeless at the transit center. They are not permitted to board at the 49th Street Safe Harbor (homeless shelter) if they are inebriated.

Safety Campaigns A year ago, PSTA set up a mirror display in the drivers’ room that discusses the costs to the agency associated with mirror strikes, and since that time, incidents have fallen 50 percent. PSTA posts safety posters, distributes annual safety awards, prepares breakfast for all of the drivers, displays “Driver of the Quarter/Year” and “Customer Service of the Quarter/Year” plaques on the wall.

Final Report 54

Polk County Transit Services Division, Bartow, FL PCTS is the public transportation service provider for Polk County, Florida. Transit Services oversees the Winter Haven Transit System, two rural routes, and elderly and disabled services for local residents. Riders can connect with Citrus Connection in Lakeland and the LYNX system in Poinciana, which provides access to Orlando. The 2013 NTD agency profile is provided below.

Purchased Service Statistics - 2013 Directly Operated Transportation Demand Demand Bus Response Response Annual Unlinked Passenger Trips 524,800 54,600 53,100 Annual Passenger Miles 4,949,100 661,600 861,600 Annual Vehicle Revenue Miles 685,900 518,900 760,700 Vehicle Operated in Maximum Service 10 26 23

Source: National Transit Database,Table 19, 2013.

Agency Procedures and Practices

Training New operator training includes: general agency rules; customer service, including effective interaction and communication with passengers; fare handling; safety/security; enforcing transit rules; responding to complaints; defusing arguments; deciding when to call for backup; maintaining control of the vehicle and exhibiting leadership; incident reporting; First aid/CPR training; Drug Free Workplace Policy; and Sexual Harassment/Violence in the Workplace. The “Hang Up and Drive – the Jacy Good Story” video with comprehensive assessment is also used in training in an effort to eliminate distracted driving.

Annual refresher training includes: general safety; wheelchair; pre-trip inspections; and a written roadeo test for which individuals receive a score. Course completions are signed by the instructor and the employee. Distracted driving content is included in the course as well as driving skills, which includes the roadeo course. Polk County uses the Smith System for defensive driving.

Customer Service Phone numbers for reporting a customer complaint or contacting an ombudsman are posted on each bus and at the terminal. Every complaint is logged into the consumer reports database, which is reviewed monthly by the LAMTD (Citrus Connection) Director of Safety Security & Operational Support. Complaints are processed by service type, and the proper supervisor is notified and meets with the driver.

Incident Response & Investigations For safety/security threats, police are called for assistance (no transit security available, except at Winter Haven Terminal) and the offender is trespassed. The bus operator completes a report at the end of the shift. The incident is referred to the Safety Subcommittee, which consists of the senior planner, program supervisor I, and safety

Final Report 55

management coordinator, and meets monthly regarding any safety/security threat to the system.

The Safety Team includes representatives from fleet maintenance, operations, risk management, and customer service, and also includes a lead driver, paratransit supervisor, and the call center manager. The team meets monthly and discusses the following topics: incidents, preventability, trends, annual modifications to the SSPP and SPP. If there is a particular trend or issue, they will issue safety memos to drivers or post information in drivers’ lounge.

Risk Management processes county or 3rd party damage resulting from an incident; interviews clients; and conducts accident investigations. Risk management also documents assaults. Within the fixed route system, an offender will be trespassed; however, within paratransit, risk management will work with the offender. Risk management maintains police reports, monitors dispatch, and conducts ride-alongs. Risk management turns claims over to the County Claims Division, which will handle any payouts, litigation, etc., and may assign a private investigator, if warranted.

If an incident occurs that requires further assistance from the agency (such as the need for a supervisor to handle a disruptive passenger), the driver is required to contact dispatch with the following information: nature of the problem, location of the vehicle, and what assistance is requested. The dispatcher responds with confirmation of the information, a description of what action will be taken, an estimated time for a response to the problem, and further instructions to the driver, if applicable (e.g., pull over and wait for assistance).

PCTS has contract security at the Winter Haven Terminal.

There is currently no video or audio in paratransit or fixed route vehicles; new vehicles on order will have both audio and video.

PCTS’s wireless communication policy is written and dated. The first violation of the policy results in a written reprimand; the second violation in a 3-year period, results in a minimum 3-day suspension without pay; and, the third violation in a 3-year period, results in termination.

Corrective Actions In the case of inappropriate behavior on the part of students, PCTS contacts the school resource officer, and the student is trespassed. Schools consistently support transit’s decision. While there is no written appeal process, a student can appeal the trespass in writing.

Safety Campaigns PCTS issues safety memos to drivers and posts information in the drivers’ lounge. There is a comment box in the drivers’ lounge where drivers can report unsafe conditions. PCTS placed reflective striping on the back of their buses in an effort to stem rear-ended collisions.

Final Report 56

Sarasota County Area Transit, Sarasota, FL SCAT is the public transportation service provider for Sarasota County, Florida. SCAT provides fixed route bus service, express bus service, and dial-a-ride paratransit service throughout the county. The 2013 NTD agency profile is provided below.

Purchased Service Statistics - 2013 Directly Operated Transportation Commuter Demand Demand Bus Bus Response Response Annual Unlinked Passenger Trips 2,803,400 29,000 84,300 85,500 Annual Passenger Miles 14,353,600 813,100 761,200 1,013,900

Annual Vehicle Revenue Miles 2,737,900 174,200 542,600 753,300 Vehicle Operated in Maximum Service 42 4 27 35

Source: National Transit Database,Table 19, 2013.

Agency Procedures and Practices SCAT has a small number of paratransit drivers who have never driven fixed route service; nonetheless, all other drivers are interchangeable between fixed route and paratransit. Operators are represented by a union and have two picks a year, in November and April, to mirror seasonal routes.

Training The Safety, Security & Training Officer (SSTO) provides the introductory 8-week basic training for all new hires that includes classroom and on-the-road instruction for fixed route and demand response. All drivers take CPR training, and since the Boston bombing in 2013, receive one hour of bomb threat training. Other emergency response/security-related training includes: NTI’s “The Mark” and local policies and procedures related to emergency management/preparedness/response.

SCAT shelved refresher training a while ago as a cost-saving measure, but recently restored four hours of annual refresher training.

Operations and safety managers make the determination for remedial training. If an operator has preventable accidents or incidents, he/she is brought in for intensive retraining, depending on preventability and the incident details. If the accident is serious, the SSTO can initiate immediate administrative leave and retraining. The Safety Committee makes the preventable/non-preventable determination at the next scheduled safety committee meeting.

Customer Service Every complaint, accident, and incident results in a review of audio and video recordings. SCAT has a full-time supervisor who dedicates the majority of his time in reviewing tapes, which occurs as soon as possible following an event. SCAT does have a suggestion box and an 800 call center number for reporting complaints.

Final Report 57

Incident Response & Investigations The SSTO reports directly to the Director and is responsible for all safety functions performed within the organization, including: new hire training, refresher and defensive driving, ADA/sensitivity training for SCAT employees, accident investigation, and accident grading.

All SCAT managers and supervisors have primary responsibility for accident prevention and hazard identification and resolution in their specific area of concern. Managers and supervisors are also responsible for the submission of written incidents reports, and bus operators are required to notify the dispatcher in the event of an accident/incident (SCAT no longer uses the Event Button, due to too many inadvertent deployments). Bus operators are allowed to communicate with dispatch while moving to report incidents; however, the agency encourages the operators to stop to make calls. The dispatcher notifies police and emergency services via 911 and dispatches a road supervisor to the incident scene, and immediately notifies all management staff in the event of a serious accident, fire, or security threat. The transportation road supervisor dispatched to the scene performs the accident investigation once the scene is released by the responding law enforcement agency. The SSTO responds to and investigates serious accidents. Employees involved in an incident or accident must complete the “Sarasota County Incident Report” and the “SCAT Incident Report” as soon as possible, but no later than 8:00 am the morning following the accident. Operators receive paid overtime to complete the report. When there is an accident, the driver is placed on administrative leave three days until post-accident tests are returned.

The lead supervisor completes the CAP, which identifies the action to be taken by SCAT and the schedule for its implementation. The SSTO monitors and tracks the implementation of each CAP and the employee is required to submit a CAP completion form. The SSTO reviews all reported incidents and accidents on a daily basis, and serves as the NTD reporter for Safety and Security (S&S) Forms 40 and 50. Beginning January 1, 2015, the SSTO rolled out a new process for collecting and analyzing accident/incident data and trends.

The Safety Committee includes: SSTO, lead supervisor, representative from Sarasota County Risk Management, three Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) drivers, and one maintenance supervisor. The committee meets monthly and prepares a report for the director. Meeting agendas include: workers compensation claims, safety issues, accident/incident review, audio and video review, and preventable/non-preventable accident determination. Employees are subjected to progressive discipline for preventable accidents.

Risk Management plays no role in the investigation of accidents or incidents, but does send a representative to Safety Committee meetings. SCAT uses the Sarasota County Employee Health Center (managed by US Health Works) for driver physicals. MVRs are pulled each year by County risk management, and background screening is done for pre-employment. SCAT does have in-house CDL testers.

Most buses and paratransit vehicles are equipped with an audio and video surveillance systems, including a camera aimed out the front window. Most buses and five supervisor

Final Report 58

vans are equipped with AVL and GPS systems. SCAT has video and audio at transfer centers.

Two SCAT terminals have full-time contract security; intermittent contract security is provided at the third terminal. SCAT interfaces with six local jurisdictions, the state police, and the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO). The 911 operator decides whom to call for a response. Twice a year, SCAT and the SCSO participate in a Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) exercise, which has helped to establish a cooperative relationship.

Corrective Actions Retraining is completed immediately, and progressive discipline is used for multiple infractions. Modification of shifts is not routinely used, except in special cases. SCAT did eliminate an unnecessary diversion on one rather long route. SCAT looked at partitions in an effort to protect their bus operators from assaults or other aggressive behavior, but the union did not support the installation.

A trespass is issued by law enforcement at the specific location of the incident for a maximum of one year. Based on a new ordinance effective January 14, 2015, a trespassed person has seven days to appeal, with or without representation.

Homeless persons near one of the terminals present the most significant security problem to SCAT. There have been issues with students from a specific school. To resolve issues with school students, the SSTO meets monthly with the head of the school, who recently issued IDs to all students authorized to use SCAT. In addition, the head of the school stations a staff member at the transit center in the morning. To diffuse the situation, SCAT took buses to the school and spent a day with the students familiarizing them with transit and SCAT bus policies.

Safety Campaigns To reduce distracted driving, SCAT added a second facility in southern Sarasota County for pull out; it saves some operators as much as 45 minutes driving time. Only minor maintenance is provided at the facility so the buses rotate to the main shop every three days. SCAT allows no ads or commercial wraps on buses.

Final Report 59

Star Metro, Tallahassee, FL Star Metro is the city-owned and operated public transit service provider for Tallahassee, Florida. Star Metro operates both fixed route and dial-a-ride paratransit service in the Tallahassee Metropolitan area. The 2013 NTD agency profile is provided below.

Service Statistics - 2013 Directly Operated Demand Bus Response Annual Unlinked Passenger Trips 4,432,100 86,500 Annual Passenger Miles 13,724,500 575,100 Annual Vehicle Revenue Miles 2,190,500 498,600 Vehicle Operated in Maximum Service 58 15

Source: National Transit Database,Table 19, 2013.

Agency Procedures and Practices Fixed route and demand response operators are allowed to crossover; however, it is easier to achieve full-time status if a fixed route operator. Operators are not unionized. Picks for full-time operators are based on seniority. Supervisors rotate who they supervise with each bid.

Operators can stop to use the restroom, but cannot stand in line to make purchases or other activities that would delay the route. The operator must notify the passengers that he/she is taking a bathroom break.

Training Due to the recent agency re-organization, training for new operators is in transition. Refresher training occurs every year on the employee’s anniversary date. Remedial training ranges from four to twelve hours, based on the severity of the accident.

Star Metro uses onboard video in their training courses. Any video that displays the face of the operator will be enhanced to ensure anonymity.

Customer Service Video is reviewed for all customer complaints.

Incident Response Bus operators are required to report all incidents, including incidents (falls) that occur on board or within 10 feet of a bus stop. Comment cards are distributed to all passengers onboard at the time of an incident. Video is reviewed for all incidents. Star Metro plans to hire someone with clerical skills to input incident data.

Investigations As a result of the recent re-organization, safety & security is overseen by operations.

Final Report 60

The City of Tallahassee is responsible for all risk management. The street supervisor, supervisor, or safety supervisor investigates the accident and notifies risk management. Risk management takes over if there are injuries on the bus.

Star Metro uses the FDOT’s Accident-Tracking Database that was developed by CUTR. Preventability determinations are made by the safety officer, supervisor, and superintendent of transit operations. Comment cards are distributed to passengers on the bus at the time of the accident. City-wide risk management reviews accident data for trends; although, Star Metro has the capability to track the following through Trapeze software: incident location, driver on duty at the time, workers compensation costs, and the number of passengers injured.

Star Metro has no official Safety Committee.

Buses have 12 video cameras and recordings can be accessed wirelessly while the vehicle in in the year. Video was also recently installed in three supervisor vehicles. As mentioned previously, Star Metro uses video in all investigations.

First violation of the policy on the use of personal wireless devices results in a one-week suspension without pay, and the second violation results in termination. An operator is immediately terminated for an accident that occurs while using a wireless device.

Corrective Actions Corrective actions incorporated in the past several years include retraining and the use of progressive discipline. Star Metro removed an operator from a route due to the operator’s behavior.

Star Metro employs a private security firm and Tallahassee Police Department (TPD) at the CK Steele Plaza (nine of eleven routes go back into the plaza).

An operator cannot “throw anyone off the bus,” but can call a supervisor directly if they are exhibiting threatening behavior. The operator must pull over to talk to TPD and are instructed to not move the bus until the police arrive. The supervisor directs the operator’s action; only TPD can trespass after discussion with the supervisor. Star Metro has two types of trespass: 1) system and 2) terminal. Restricted access is usually issued for one year. Once issued, only TPD can lift (rarely lifted). Star Metro indicated that it has been a year since the last trespass was issued. The Leon County Sheriff, Florida A&M University (FAMU), Florida State University (FSU), and the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) can all trespass violators on the Star Metro system.

Star Metro identified two groups of disruptive passengers. First, the city located a homeless shelter two blocks from Star Metro. After the shelter started distributing free passes, the Star Metro route serving the shelter increased from 300 to 1,000 riders per day. Star Metro currently allows one complete trip (both sides of the route) per pass. The most significant problems include: transport of all personal belongings (carts), babies, some acting-out behavior, and cleanliness. The second group is special schools that purchase passes in bulk; although, Star Metro began regular meetings with the school administrator to resolve conflicts. The school will now withdraw passes from problem students.

Final Report 61

Safety Campaigns Star Metro just completed a city-wide safety campaign. Star Metro uses the city’s safety policy, which is based on the job description. Three preventable accidents within 36 months results in termination. Operators receive a cash safety award, which Star Metro is doubling – 10-12 drivers will receive a $600 award.

Final Report 62

Transdev, Sebring, FL Transdev is the CTC for four counties: DeSoto (under contract with the DeSoto County Board of County Commissioners), and Hardee, Highlands, and Okeechobee (under contract with the Central Florida Regional Planning Council).

Agency Procedures and Practices

Training Upon hire and prior to being placed into road service, all drivers are required to complete training and testing in the following areas: handling of emergencies, security threats, and threat awareness. All newly hired employees are also provided instructional training by the contracted provider per Transdev’s Security Program Plan (SPP) (Transdev confirms the conduct of the training and the associated record keeping on an annual basis). Drivers are given instruction in rules and standard operating procedures in the following areas: general rules, including employee conduct codes; customer service, which covers expectations of employees when dealing with the public; and, instruction on how and to whom to report security incidents, and types of individuals or situations to be aware of and report.

Transdev has developed and maintains an Operator Development Program Training Manual that contract operators may use for new hire training and testing of employees as part of the Safety Training Program.

Transdev provides annual refresher training that includes passenger relations through a contractor. Transdev requires contracted providers to provide remedial training for drivers who have been involved in a serious collision or have developed unsafe driving behavior or other driving problems. Two Transdev contractors reported that they terminate rather than provide remedial training.

Customer Service Transdev maintains a summary of customer complaints and provided a copy of the Transdev Complaint Summary Sheet (September 2014 through November 2014) that was presented to LCB.

Incident Response Events are considered accidents or incidents that involve a transit vehicle or take place on a Transdev subcontractor’s controlled property. For all events, drivers are required to contact local law enforcement, the dispatcher, and emergency medical services (as required) immediately. Supervisors are sent to the scene depending on the severity of the event at the discretion of the operations manager. Each investigation is documented in a final report that includes: description of the investigation activities; identified causal factors; and, any identified CAP.

Investigations Vendors provide the general manager with accident and incident reports. A safety review is conducted in conjunction with the Central Florida Regional Planning Council (CFRPC) annual review. Accident reports and complaints are forwarded to the general manager, who reviews

Final Report 63

the reports and follows up as needed. Each contractor/subcontractor must submit a safety and security certification to Transdev no later than January 15, annually, for the prior calendar year period. Transdev has no official safety committee.

One of Transdev’s contractors indicated that they have no audio or video, but confirmed the presence of GPS on 95 percent of their vehicle fleet. Another Transdev contractor indicated they have video and audio in some of their newer vehicles

Use of a personal wireless communication device is prohibited while the transit vehicle is in motion, and all personal wireless communications devices must be turned off with any earpieces removed from the operator’s ear while occupying the driver’s seat. In an emergency, if a driver is unable to use the radio, a personal cellular phone may be used to contact the agency. In such a situation, the driver must park the vehicle in a safe place off the road and call the direct line to the dispatcher. One driver was terminated for use of a wireless communication device.

Corrective Actions Transdev does not incorporate retraining into their driver retention programs, but does use progressive discipline. While shift modifications have not been used, a driver’s route was modified in response to a disruptive passenger. No adjustments have been made to the driver-compartment.

Restricted access (trespass) is facilitated by the local police. The length of the restriction is typically a year. Transdev does have an appeal process in place, and the trespass can be suspended.

Transdev does not transport students, but reported having some problems with some of their clients who have cognitive disabilities.

Final Report 64

Votran, South Daytona, FL Votran is the public transportation service provider of Volusia County, Florida. Votran provides fixed route bus, paratransit, and vanpool service to all urban areas of the county. The 2013 NTD agency profile is provided below.

Service Statistics - 2013 Directly Operated Purchased Transportation Demand Demand Demand Bus Response Vanpool Response Response-Taxi Annual Unlinked Passenger Trips 3,734,100 164,500 20,600 100,900 4,600 Annual Passenger Miles 14,637,700 1,448,800 1,042,900 777,600 31,900 Annual Vehicle Revenue Miles 2,423,300 1,299,400 156,600 964,800 25,600 Vehicle Operated in Maximum Service 48 37 9 23 4

Source: National Transit Database,Table 19, 2013.

Agency Procedures and Practices Operators do not crossover from fixed route to paratransit (pay scales differ), but are permitted to formally change from one mode to another. Seniority starts over for drivers who change modes. Bus operators are represented by a union, and picks are conducted three times each year (January, June, and September) based on seniority. Bathroom breaks are allowed but not scheduled. Some runs have splits; otherwise, operators must take breaks in extra time.

Training New operators receive 6-8 weeks of training, including 2 ½ weeks in the classroom. Two Votran training supervisors are required to qualify a person ready to drive. Training content includes: sensitivity training, de-escalation, drug-free workplace, and customer service. Votran experienced an increase in the number of accidents within the last 3 weeks (of the interview conducted), which appears to be tied to a number of new hires.

Refresher training is provided annually and focuses on sensitivity, de-escalation, and customer service.

Votran uses remedial training for accidents, safety, and customer service issues, and incorporates the use of video from on-board cameras to assist with one-on-one remedial training activities.

Customer Service Votran has an established Customer Service Review Committee that meets once a week to address both complaints and commendations. Representatives include: the Assistant General Manager, planning, Director of Safety & Training, Volusia TPO, Paratransit Supervisor, and maintenance. The complaint is logged; paperwork is reviewed; video is examined; vote is taken; and, disciplinary action is determined, if justified. Complaints of speeding are referred to the Accident Review Committee.

Final Report 65

Incident Response & Investigations Safety and security are overseen by the Director of Safety & Training. There is a separate Management Safety Committee (consists of county risk, transit management, and insurance subcontractor) that conducts a monthly review and identifies trends. Operators are drug- tested after every accident, regardless of injuries.

The Director of Safety & Training chairs the monthly Accident Review Committee, Representatives include: fixed route operator, paratransit operator, maintenance, fixed route supervisor, and paratransit supervisor. The committee determines whether accident was preventable/non-preventable using NSC guidelines.

Votran has strict procedures for safety incidents. All information is collected and investigated internally. Findings are forwarded to Volusia County Risk Management for claim follow-up. County risk management participates in the monthly management safety committee meetings.

Buses have a minimum of six video cameras, including cameras on each side of bus; paratransit vehicles have four video cameras, and the agency is asking for a fifth camera to be installed in their paratransit vehicles. There is a live feed available at the main building, and video is collected on a hard drive and then downloaded.

Wireless devices are allowed onboard, but must be stowed. Operators may use the devices off of the bus for emergencies, when the radio is inoperable. Violation of the policy 2 times within 12 months results in termination. Drivers are trained to pull over to communicate with dispatch.

Votran contracts with private security for a guard at the transfer station, which has more incidents because of a high level of activity.

Corrective Actions Votran uses retraining and progressive discipline. They have pulled a paratransit operator from a route, and, if absolutely necessary, they will do separate routes for disruptive customers. Votran tries to balance safety with on-time performance; operators need to notify dispatch if there is a problem.

Incidents of spitting on an operator are rare; operators are trained to de-escalate.

Votran is considering some kind of operator compartment design treatment to isolate drivers, whose biggest source of distraction is passengers talking to the operator and each other.

Volusia County has a legal issue with trespass. Law enforcement is restrictive. Votran will trespass for one day, system-wide, and will distribute a text to operators. If access is restricted for more than one day, the police must arrest the violator. Votran considers law enforcement a partner, but tries to limit calls.

Votran has a positive relationship with two alternative schools, with whom they work closely.

Final Report 66

Votran has a select group of disruptive passengers that affect both fixed route and demand response service. One passenger in particular is verbally abusive, blocks the bus, and is intoxicated most of the time. The typical response is to call law enforcement.

The homeless rate in the area is high, and while violence problems are not uncommon, hygiene issues rather than disruptive behavior create difficulty. Votran works closely with the Council on Aging, and does make referrals to public health. Votran does cold weather movement to homeless shelters.

Safety Campaigns Votran staff rides the bus routes in an effort to confirm the timing of the route and identify any safety issues that may exist along the route or at bus stops. Votran uses payroll stickers with safety messages, posters, and mailbox stuffings. Votran celebrates “No Preventable Accidents” whenever they can. In one recent campaign, managers used their own money to buy fortune cookies with 13 various safety messages with prizes awarded for those who collected the most number of different messages. Votran also takes advantage of photo opportunities, e.g., they wrapped a bus with an acknowledgement of their 3 million-mile safety drivers.

Final Report 67

Chapter 3 – Summary of Highlighted Practices

During the conduct of the literature review and site visits with agency staff, a number of comprehensive programs were identified that transit agencies have implemented to enhance safety and reduce or minimize the likelihood of assaults on transit passengers and operators. Areas of focus include training, customer service, incident response and investigation, corrective actions, and safety campaigns.

Training . LYNX introduced a simulator to assist with training in 2013, and initiated a renewed focus on hiring qualified bus operators, through the introduction of the Select Advantage screening tool. . Numerous agencies, including BCT, LYNX, HART, Lee Tran, PCPT, PSTA, and Votran, incorporate de-escalation techniques in their new operator and refresher programs. De-escalation techniques and active shooter training are examples of the training provided in two-hour segments during LYNX quarterly safety meetings. . JTA called on the JSO to provide training in spring 2015 to their operators, who responded very favorably to a presentation on basic body language (posturing, threatening vs non-threatening), how to get yourself away from an attack, and verbal judo. JTA recommended that other agencies work with their local law enforcement to see if a similar training could be provided to their bus operators. . Citrus Connection developed and maintains an Operator Development Training Program for new hire training and testing of employees that includes conflict resolution and avoidance. . TSI instructor training is now in place at Citrus Connection, HART, JTA, MDT, Palm Tran, and PSTA. . MCAT not only employs the Smith System (critical thinking, awareness of surroundings, enhancing the safety of existing drivers) for new bus operator training, but also requires it if there is an accident or a “citizen action complaint.” . HART requires drivers to take “The Critical Point” video training that is part of the Smith System. . PSTA uses the Smith System for an operator who has a second preventable accident. . PCTS draws on the Smith System for defensive driving. PCTS annual refresher training includes a written roadeo test for which individuals receive a score. Course completions are signed by the instructor and the employee. Distracted driving content is included in the course as well as driving, which includes the roadeo course. PCPT plans to incorporate the entire Smith System in their training program moving forward. . CCTD requires new drivers to undergo successfully in-service training with an experienced driver. . At Palm Tran, drivers are exposed to the transit bus on the first day of training, and operate the bus on an obstacle course in the yard. If comfortable, on the second day, new operators do left/right turn movements on the street. . PCPT requires new drivers to ride several routes, and prior to hire, drivers are asked to donate 3 hours of their time to ride with a paratransit driver on a route. PCPT tries to place drivers on routes generally known to have difficult passengers/situations.

Final Report 68

. RTS initiates refresher training for complaints in lieu of discipline or termination. HART provides an increased level of sensitivity training to demand response operators. . Actual video footage is utilizes by a number of agencies in their refresher and remedial training. As an example, Star Metro uses video from cameras that face the driver to demonstrate issues such as distracted driving or interaction with passengers (video is modified to ensure anonymity of the driver) and Votran incorporates the video from on-board cameras in one-on-one remedial training activities. PCPT can see bus stops with cameras that are currently in place; the manager can log in live to view what is happening. . Both Palm Tran and PCPT developed specific fare handling policies designed to reduce conflict. In fare disputes at Palm Tran, the first time, drivers are trained to simply “state the fare” and let the customer ride; the second time they let them ride; the third time, a supervisor is dispatched. At PCPT, operators are trained to issue change cards that can be used at a later date, which has become a great customer service issue, because passengers often leave their change for someone less fortunate. . Two special training campaigns include JTA’s “would you let this guy on your bus at 11:30 pm if you are alone?” and PCTS’s “Hang Up and Drive – the Jacy Good Story” video with comprehensive assessment.

Customer Service . At CCTD, repeated failure to show up for scheduled rides yields a 30-day suspension. Many customers call after receiving a suspension notice; nonetheless, 5 of 10 suspensions issued in a day are withdrawn after speaking with customers. Minor verbal complaints are handled by staff immediately – more serious complaints progress to supervisors, and then to the manager. . CAT subscribes to the policy that “no passenger is left behind, “and will actually transport someone who missed the bus and calls. Support vehicles are equipped with bike racks and lifts. . At Lee Tran, if a passenger has a complaint with the driver, the bus, or with Lee Tran in general, the passenger is separated from the driver to control the situation and offer reasonable resolutions to both the operator and the passenger. Unruly passengers, if removed from the bus, may be given a ride to their destination (one time only per passenger), to give the supervisor the opportunity to discuss the incident and remind the passenger of Lee Tran policies. . MCAT allows operators to “challenge the policy,” in two specific areas. The MCAT Bikes on Buses Policy (each bus has only 2 bike racks) allows an operator to challenge the policy and may allow folding bikes on buses if the bike rack is full. Similarly, if all wheelchair slots are in use, the operator can call dispatch and request that paratransit respond to the site to accommodate a wheelchair customer. . The Pasco County Sheriff’s Office, Homeless Division provides assistance at the PCPT transfer center, which is a busy stop. PCPT has the high-use areas power-washed every day. . Votran established a Customer Service Review Committee that meets once a week to address both complaints and commendations. Representatives include: the assistant

Final Report 69

general manager, planning, director safety & training, TPO, paratransit supervisor, and maintenance.

Incident Response & Investigations . LYNX posts notices on the pavement in the operations facility to remind employees to refrain from texting. . At JTA, if an operator has a serious (major) incident, JTA will pull the driver’s record for the prior seven days to determine if the driver’s schedule may have led to or contributed to fatigue. . Lee Tran developed a system that is designed to store all data in an electronic format. Lee Tran’s electronic report formatting appears to qualify as a “best practice.” . Lee Tran established mutual aid agreements with police jurisdictions, which has a created a proactive atmosphere. Lee Tran allows police to use their new facility, which increases the police presence in the neighborhood.

Corrective Actions . If a BCT operator feels threatened, the agency will place a supervisor or police at stops along the operator’s route. . Citrus Connection uses security on random bus routes to monitor teenagers fighting. . Lee Tran will contact and counsel disruptive passengers regarding their behavior, if requested by the driver. . JTA said that external stakeholder partnerships are crucial. . Star Metro began regular meetings with the school administrator to resolve conflicts, and, as a result, the school withdraws passes from problem students. . To diffuse the situations with disruptive students, SCAT took buses to the school and spent a day with the students familiarizing them with transit and SCAT bus policies. . Votran works closely with the Council on Aging, and makes referrals to public health, and does cold weather movement to homeless shelters.

Safety Campaigns . RTS developed a number of communications devices, including: stall memo (highly successful); bulletin board; digital signs; newsletters; mail boxes; posted customer compliments (City linked); City Manager meets with employees annually; locked drop box; and FYI for drivers (drivers consider FYI to be formal communication with a required timeline for response). RTS’s GM makes a concerted effort to have dialogue directly with drivers during in-service and annual training to gather feedback. . HART facilitated ergonomic changes to the drivers’ compartment – accelerator and brake pedals are adjustable, upgraded seats to an expensive model that has air pockets, include operator in the design/layout of cockpit, and Human Resources ergo metrics testing to identify those potential employees with higher customer service skills scores. . Citrus Connection staged a bike safety demonstration at the terminal and a wheelchair securement demonstration, also at the terminal.

Final Report 70

. MDT issues a “New Rule of the Week” (e.g., lots of pedestrian accidents in an area), and plans to set up mirror stations at one of their garages in an effort to ensure bus operator visibility of his surroundings. . Palm Tran continues to develop language for “Be Patient” stickers for the back of buses. . PCPT established a close call reporting system for operators. . A year ago, PSTA set up a mirror display in the drivers’ room describing the costs associated with mirror strikes, and since that time, related incidents have fallen 50 percent. . PSTA gives “Customer Service of the Quarter/Year” awards and places the plaques on the wall. . PCTS has a comment box in the drivers’ lounge where drivers can report unsafe conditions. . To reduce distracted driving, SCAT added a second facility for pull out; it saves some operators as much as 45 minutes driving time . Votran celebrates No Preventable Accidents whenever they can. Votran managers used their own money to buy fortune cookies with 13 different safety messages, and prizes were awarded for those who collected the most different messages. Votran also takes advantage of photo opportunities, e.g., they wrapped a bus with an acknowledgement of their 3 million-mile safety drivers.

Final Report 71

Chapter 4 – Conclusions and Recommendations

The topic of transit passenger and operator assaults continues to be at the forefront of transit safety discussions. For transit agencies across the U.S. and Canada, assault-related injuries have grown by 83.7 percent since 2008. Nationwide, transit rider assaults grew by 8.3 percent in 2014, and by nearly 300 percent since 2008. Bus operator assaults experienced a 17.2 percent decline in 2014, but showed an increase of one percent compared to 2008.

Florida’s assault-related bus operator and transit rider injuries both declined, by 75.0 percent and 42.9 percent, respectively. Total injuries declined by 58.3 percent in 2014. Most assault-related injuries nationally (81.5%) and in Florida (86.7%) occurred on the bus rather than at another location. Florida’s injuries mirror nationwide injuries, but show a greater incidence of transit rider injuries. Nationally, while more injuries occurred on Friday, there is minimal difference in injuries by the day of the week. Florida, on the other hand, shows substantial difference in the number of injuries by day of the week, with more than a fourth of all injuries occurring on Thursdays.

In interviews and communication conducted during the site visits, the majority of the transit agencies reported they have few, if any, major assaults. In fact, 10 of the 20 agencies visited have not suffered an NTD-reportable assault at any time in the last eight years. Nonetheless, the larger agencies stressed that minor assaults, which fail to meet NTD reporting requirements, are on the increase.

Fifteen of the 20 Florida transit agencies that participated in the project provided conduct- related data – incidents that transit agencies record and track that are at thresholds less than those that would prompt the incident to be reported as an NTD major incident. Data were aggregated (4,406 incidents) and analyzed to identify common characteristics, such as the location of the occurrence, the day of the week on which incidents occurred, and the time of day when most incidents occurred. All of the incidents were onboard the bus.

Many of the agencies have been proactive in addressing assault-related incidents and have implemented changes that include providing bus operators with the tools necessary to effectively respond to volatile situations through training, establishing local policies and procedures to deter assault events, and assisting in responding to events.

Conclusions A series of conclusions or observations has been made as a result of this research and is included below.

Final Report 72

. Bus operator and passenger assaults continue to occur nationwide and in Florida.

. Nationally, transit operators are at greater risk for a major assault than transit riders; in Florida, transit riders face more risk of assault than drivers.

. Frequent conduct-related incidents were documented on Florida’s transit systems. While most of these do not meet the NTD definition of assault, they do represent anti-social behavior that ranges from assaults, robbery and vandalism to verbal abuse and intimidating and threatening behavior that impacts the physical and mental well-being of passengers and drivers.

. Summary data collected during the project proved helpful in identifying behavior that disrupts transit service and poses a threat to operators and passengers.

Recommendations During the agency site visits, a number of successful practices were identified. The recommendations below include these practices.

Recommendation 3: Develop a guide for best training practices that describes types of suitable training and distribute to transit agencies to ensure a concerted approach to training.

Recommendation 4: Share agency success stories that reduced anti-social behavior on buses.

Recommendation 5: Expand educational endeavors – transit staff and police visit schools to explain the impact of anti-social behavior; develop student contracts; assign student ID cards; and, involve parents and teachers.

Recommendation 6: Evaluate infrastructure improvements, including: the consideration of driver compartments; installation of video cameras with notices to passengers that cameras are in use and violators could be prosecuted; and, incorporation of panic buttons in conjunction with local law enforcement rapid response programs.

Recommendation 8: Work with local law enforcement agencies to improve response time to acts of anti-social behavior, and target known hotspots for a specified amount of time.

Final Report 73

References

Adams, E. (May 2012). NYS Senator Eric Adams will introduce legislation which will enable Amtrak to provide Taser guns and training to Amtrak train conductors and motormen. Senator Eric Adams Blog. Accessed January 24, 2013 at http://www.nysenate.gov/press-release/nys-senator-eric-adams-will-introduce- legislation-which-will-enable-amtrak-provide-tas

Adams, E. (April 2012). Statement from NYS Senator Eric Adams regarding the issuance of Tasers for transit authority employees. Senator Eric Adams Blog. Accessed January 17, 2013 at http://www.nysenate.gov/blogs/2012/apr/17/

Amalgamated Transit Union. (2009). Know Your Rights: US Fair Credit Reporting Act Protections, printed in InTransit Magazine, Vol, 118, No. 5, September/October 2009, pp. 17-18. Washington, DC.

Bruyere, D. and Gillet, J.M., National Operator Assault Survey Results 2005, ATU, 2006.

Donohue, P. “Brooklyn state Sen. Eric Adams wants transit workers to be armed with Tasers - Transport Workers Union Local 100 supporting measure as a way to protect workers,” New York Daily News, April 16, 2012,. Accessed January 17, 2013 at http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/brooklyn-state-sen-eric-adams-transit- workers-armed-tasers-article-1.1062688#ixzz2IG1TLMAY

Granville, S. and Campbell-Jack, D. Research to Investigate the Extent and Impact of Anti- Social Behavior on Scottish Buses. 2005. George Street Research Limited. Accessed January 7, 2013 at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2005/03/20782/53859

Grynbaum, M. “When Passengers Spit, Bus Drivers Take Months Off,” New York Times, May 24, 2010. Accessed February 21, 2013 at http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/25/nyregion/25spit.html?_r=0

Hendricks, M. “Is enough being done to stop the assault on bus operators?” Kansas City Star, November 14, 2012. Accessed January 22, 2013 from the Missouri Public Transit Association website at http://mptaonline.typepad.com/missouri_public_transit_a/2012/11/

Jackovics, T. “HART union seeks investigation on attack on bus driver,” Tampa Tribune, July 25, 2012. Accessed Jan http://www2.tbo.com/news/breaking- news/2012/jul/25/hart-union-seeks-attack-investigation-ar-441933/

Kompier, M., Bus drivers: Occupational stress and stress prevention, 1996. Department of Work and Organizational Psychology, University of Nijmegen, Netherlands. Accessed January 3, 2013 at http://www.bvsde.paho.org/bvsast/i/fulltext/bustress/bustress.pdf

Final Report 74

LoBasso, R. “Still no solution to deterring attacks on SEPTA drivers: Legislation that would protect the transit workers is stalled in Harrisburg.” Philadelphia Weekly. April 17, 2012, accessed January 22, 2013 at http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/news-and- opinion/147797505.html#ixzz2IjfjV5IL

Nakanishi, Y., TCRP Synthesis 80 – Transit Security Update, 2009. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. Accessed January 22, 2013 at http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/tcrp/tcrp_syn_80.pdf

Nakanishi, Y. and Fleming, W., TCRP Report 93: Practices to Protect Bus Operators from Passenger Assault, Transportation Research Board of the National Academies, Washington, DC, 2011.

National Rural Transit Assistance Program. (2002). Problem Passengers: Challenging Situations. Washington, DC.

Pine, R. “Managing for Performance-Safety, Customer Service, Conflict and Work Ethic: A Guide for Transit Operator Trainers.” The Florida Department of Transportation, in cooperation with the Center for Urban Transportation Research (CUTR) at the University of South Florida (USF). Accessed February 21, 2013 at https://www.transitoperations.org/pdfs/training/ManagingforPerformanceSafety0220 2113.pdf

Roman, A. “Is enough being done to stop the assault on bus operators?” Metro Magazine, Volume 105, Issue Number 7, August 2009. Accessed January 23, 2013 at http://www.metro-magazine.com/article/story/2009/08/is-enough-being-done-to- stop-the-assault-on-bus-operators.aspx

Salmon, P. M., Young, K., and Regan, M., “Distraction on the Buses: a Novel Framework of Ergonomics Methods For Identifying Sources and Effects of Bus Driver Distraction,” Applied Ergonomics, Volume 42, Issue 4, May 2011, Pages 602-610, Accessed January 7, 2013 at http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0003687010001420

Transit Workers Union. (2012). TWU Local 234 Operator and Public Safety Report: Preliminary recommendations based on task force discussions, the operator survey, and meetings with SEPTA. March 5, 2012. Accessed January 22, 2013 at http://dc.streetsblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/TWU-Local-234-Operator- Public-Safety-Preliminary-Rpt-3-5-12-Final.3.pdf. Washington, DC.

Transportation Security Administration and Federal Transit Administration. (2006). TSA/FTA Security and Emergency Management Action Items for Transit Agencies. Washington, DC.

Ward, D. “Burnaby bus driver returns to work, takes aim at 'injustice system' - Assaulted on the job, Charles Dixon says his attacker should be in jail,” Vancouver Sun, May 11, 2012.

Final Report 75

http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2012/03/18/bus-driver-safety-on-public-transit-draws- more-attention-after-attack-on-septa-bus-driver/ http://www.wusa9.com/news/article/233294/158/Metro-Bus-Drivers-Concerned-About- Safety-After-Recent-Incidents http://www.thenewyorkworld.com/2012/05/10/rise-in-transit-worker-assaults-prompts- summit-seeking-solutions/ http://www.metro-magazine.com/blog/from-the-editor-s/story/2012/01/transit-violence- signals-need-for-more-security.aspx http://www.ajc.com/photo/news/local/atlanta-bus-driver-attacks-on-the-rise/pcDps/ http://www.thenewyorkworld.com/2012/05/10/rise-in-transit-worker-assaults-prompts- summit-seeking-solutions www.twulocal100.org/news/100/827 http://www.stm.info/english/en-bref/a-ra2011.pdf http://www.metro-magazine.com/article/story/2012/01/septa-delves-into-drivers-past-to- improve-customer-service.aspx http://www.burnabynow.com/Burnaby+driver+returns+work+takes+injustice+system/654 8231/story.html#ixzz2LY9vLp78

Final Report 76

Appendix A – Literature Review

This literature review was conducted to provide a solid and necessary foundation for Examination of Passenger Assaults on Bus Transit Systems. The review provides a comprehensive overview of the contributors or causal factors that lead to assaults and other aggressive behaviors that involve transit bus operators and passengers. It includes the review of literature that addresses the complexity and relevance of transit assaults and aggressive behavior identified through a search of the Transit Research International Database (TRID), as well as Google and other internet search tools. As one would expect, the transit safety and security-related assault research is prevalent and the news media is rife with stories about assaults on transit bus drivers, passenger on passenger assaults, and transit bus driver on passenger assaults, with many of these articles reporting increases in the number of events at transit agencies across the country.

To ensure a thorough examination providing a solid basis for this evaluation and indication of model practices, the literature review also includes the identification and collection of safety-related procedures, policies, regulations, and rules established by Florida’s public transit agencies. Further, it includes an examination of formal publications and newspaper and online news articles; guidelines and recommended practices developed by industry groups, including the Amalgamated Transit Union and Transportation Workers United labor organizations, and the American Public Transportation Association (APTA); and other research reporting sources.

Many interrelated issues add complexity to the examination of bus operator and passenger assaults and are a focus of this literature review, including how, where, and why assaults take place; bus operator hiring and screening processes; training bus operators on ways to de-escalate conflicts and self-defense training; customer service and behavioral assessment training; transit operations decision support system and emergency communications; and preventative strategies aimed at deterring assaults such as cameras, plexi-glass shields, and the use or expanded use of security personnel and local uniformed or off-duty police officers. It is also important to understand the impacts of state legislation to those agencies operating within states where assaults on transit workers have punitive ramifications in their characterization as either a first-degree felony or a misdemeanor. An understanding of how these issues are compounded facilitates the development of comprehensive plans to increase safety of both drivers and passengers

Finally, it is important to understand the underlying psychology of assaults. This literature review includes those elements that may be present that could be considered pre- determinates in bus operator and passenger assaults. Fatigue and distraction, both of which are associated with stress and which have also been identified as pre-determinates in assaults or aggressive behavior, are also part of the discussion explored in this comprehensive literature review. The interrelated psychology and physiology impacting responses to conflict are of seminal importance in discovering the “why” and properly mitigating those factors. This examination could provide a platform for additional research and potentially the development of tools or other resources to assist public transit agencies further mitigate bus operator or passenger assaults and other aggressive behavior.

Final Report 77

A summary of research reports, articles, and academic papers focusing on transit assaults and interrelated topics is provided below.

Transit safety and security have always been important topics to mass transit agencies as a whole, and crime on public transportation has spurred countermeasures to be implemented throughout time. In “Transit security: A description of problems and countermeasures,”1 an overview of transit issues were reported following site visits at 13 different U.S. transit systems. This report, which was conducted for the Federal Transit Administration in the 1980’s, identified key problems in addition to countermeasures used in an attempt to deal with the key problems. It was discovered that large urban systems in high-crime inner-city areas generally have higher crime rates than smaller or commuter- oriented systems. The typical crimes against patrons are assaults and robberies while more severe crimes are less common. Crime against employees is also typically more frequent on large systems as compared to smaller systems, noting that isolated positions such as bus operators are particularly vulnerable to violent attacks. The transit bus operator is additionally vulnerable due to their requirement to collect fares. Problems associated with transit safety are complex and detract from the continued viability of public transportation as a whole. In addition, this report emphasizes that the costs of transit security are borne by transit riders and the public at large, which could likely be reduced by utilizing countermeasures that have already proved to be successful.

In “The risk estimate of being assaulted in public transport in Lille urban area,”2 the author’s objective was to estimate the risk of being assaulted in public transportation, linking the number of attacks on passengers to specific indicators estimated from mobility data, including: duration of exposure, number of trips, and travel time. The outcome was a determination of risk by gender, time of day, economic status, mode of public transportation used, and type of criminal act, as examples. The findings reflected in the paper are that men in general have a higher risk than women of being a victim of assault, while sexual assaults are almost always on women. The risk of assaults is much higher after 9:00 p.m. and in more urbanized settings.

One detailed study that included an extensive survey of households, transit managers, and bus operators, Research to Investigate the Extent and Impact of Anti-Social Behavior on Scottish Buses, (Granville S. and Campbell-Jack D.), defined anti-social behavior as behavior that threatens the physical or mental health, safety or security of individuals or causes offence or annoyance to individuals including3:

1 Ronald A. Mauri, Nancy A. Cooney, and Garry J. Prowe. U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Transit Administration. Transit security: A description of problems and countermeasures. October 1984. Accessed December 2, 2015 at http://www.fta.dot.gov/documents/TS_Problem_Coutnermeasures.pdf 2 Palmer, Patrick. The risk estimate of being assaulted in public transport in Lille urban area. 5th International Conference on Women’s Issues in Transportation, Proceedings. Paris, France. April 2014. http://wiit- paris2014.sciencesconf.org/conference/wiit- paris2014/pages/Proceedings_The_5th_International_Conference_on_WIiT_1.pdf 3 Sue Granville and Diarmid Campbell-Jack. Research to Investigate the Extent and Impact of Anti-Social Behavior on Scottish Buses. 2005. George Street Research Limited. Accessed January 7, 2013 at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2005/03/20782/53859

Final Report 78

. Harassment and intimidating behavior that creates alarm or fear, towards bus drivers and/or other passengers, including verbal or physical abuse . Drunken and abusive behavior towards bus drivers and/or other passengers . Assault of bus drivers and/or other passengers . Vehicle crime such as vandalism, graffiti, throwing missiles or other deliberate damage to buses or bus company property . Dumping litter or rubbish on buses . Conflicts or racist abuse/incidents . Engaging in threatening behavior in large groups at bus stops or on buses . Smoking of cigarettes or illegal drug-taking on buses or at bus stops

In Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) Synthesis 93: Practices To Protect Bus Operators From Passenger Assault, (Y. J. Nakanishi and W. C. Fleming), the authors defined “assault” of a bus operator broadly as acts of aggression that may or may not cause physical injury to the operator.4 Assault was defined as, “overt physical and verbal acts by a passenger that interfere with the mission of a bus operator—to complete his or her scheduled run safely—and that adversely affect the safety of the operator and customers.”

In the TRCP Synthesis 93, the authors summarized survey and literature review results of bus operator protection measures ranging from policing, personnel, and training to technology, information management, policy, and legislation. When agencies selected and implemented security measures, a variety of involved institutional, legal, and budgetary constraints were considered. It was found that some measures were more appropriate for preventing certain types of attacks. For example, conflict mitigation training was appropriate for reducing assaults from disputes but barriers were useful in protecting the operator against spontaneous attacks. Emergency communications and vehicle location technologies improved incident response. Video surveillance was found to be effective for deterrence and post-assault identification and prosecution of assailants whereas audio surveillance was found specifically useful in addressing verbal attacks and threats.

Agencies have helped in passing legislation on enhanced penalties for operator assault and have established agency policies such as suspending service for violating transit agency rules. The authors of the TCRP Synthesis 93 also concluded that the socio-demographic characteristics of assailants influence the protection method and the use of school outreach programs could be a method used by transit agencies to mitigate assaults by teens. This particular prevention measure was shared as one of the anticrime practices as reported by TCRP Synthesis 80 – Transit Security Update, 2009 (Y. Nakanishi).5

Among other practices the author listed as part of the effective counterterrorism and anticrime practices, as identified by the synthesis survey, case studies, literature review, and input from industry experts were: 1. Crime statistics maps are valuable visual tools for transit police and are useful for the strategic deployment of officers. Providing passengers with access to up-to-date

4 Yuko J Nakanishi and William C Fleming. TCRP Synthesis 93: Practices to Protect Bus Operators from Passenger Assault. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press, 2011. Accessed January 22, 2013 at http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/tcrp/tcrp_syn_93.pdf 5 Yuko J Nakanishi. TCRP Synthesis 80 – Transit Security Update, 2009. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. Accessed January 22, 2013 at http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/tcrp/tcrp_syn_80.pdf

Final Report 79

crime data through interactive, user-friendly crime statistics maps increases their perception of control over their transit trip. 2. Plainclothes officers within the transit system are used to catch perpetrators in the act of committing a crime. The use of unmarked vehicles is also an effective practice in transit park-and-ride or other parking facilities. 3. Training bus drivers in customer relations, conflict mitigation, and gang-related violence provides bus drivers with increased confidence and knowledge in dealing with the public. 4. Codes of conduct are rules that passengers must follow within the transit system. Enforcing codes of conduct can assist agencies in detecting and deterring crime and in enhancing the perception of security within their transit systems. 6

The authors recommended the following efforts as strategies to minimize anti-social behavior: . Reporting of incidents by bus drivers and companies should be improved, with particular emphasis on ensuring accurate data is kept on the frequency and nature of incidents. . Wherever possible, information should also to be kept on the type of individual committing each act of anti-social behavior. . Detailed records of costs relating to anti-social behavior should be kept by bus companies. . Training for drivers (both as part of initial training and on an on-going basis) should be introduced at each company and improved where necessary. . There should be increased emphasis on partnership working across organizations dealing with anti-social behavior on buses. . There should be further focus on educational initiatives for dealing with problems in more holistic manner. . Effort should be made to ensure that bus drivers and bus companies feel adequately protected, both in terms of initiatives and the legal system. . A range of different initiatives encompassing physical, preventative and diversionary approaches should be introduced. . An ongoing assessment of the cost-effectiveness of different initiatives, particularly those involving diversionary approaches, should be undertaken. . Good practice across bus companies should be shared. The number of prosecutions for anti-social behavior should be increased wherever possible.

A Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) Report 180 – Policing and Security Practices for Small- and Medium-Sized Public Transit Systems identifies specific challenges associated with the security of small and medium sized transit systems, and broadens the current state of practice7. First it is noteworthy that the challenges associated with the safety and security of small- and medium-sized transit systems vary significantly from the problems faced by large transit systems. While the protection of facilities and equipment is important, the safety and security of the people who use and operate public transit systems are of the utmost consideration when establishing or improving best practices for security. There are several types of risks associated with the safety and security of the transit system

6 Ibid. 7 Ernest Frazier, Sr. TCRP Report 180: Policing and Security Practices for Small-and Medium-Sized Public Transit Systems. Washington, DC: The Transportation Research Board of the National Academies, 2015. Accessed December 2, 2015 at http://www.tcrponline.org/PDFDocuments/tcrp_rpt_180.pdf

Final Report 80

such as, the risk of terrorist attack, criminal activity such as violent crimes, property crimes, and minor offenses and disorder. While the minor offenses and disorder may not seem significant, the perception of safety of the transit system has an impact on the passengers and operators feelings’ of safety and comfort, and thus affects the willingness to use the transit system by the passenger, and increases absenteeism in transit operators. This TCRP report acknowledges that the highest consequence security issues faced by small- and medium-sized transit agencies is the potential for employees to be assaulted while performing their duties. In 2012 the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) developed a factsheet entitled Preventing Violence against Bus Operators which listed the following risk factors associated with operator assaults:

. Interacting directly with the public . Working alone or in isolated areas . Having a mobile workplace . Working late night or early morning hours . Working in high-crime areas . Providing services to people who may be frustrated . Having a workplace where access is uncontrolled . Handling money or fares . Having enforcement responsibilities, and . Having inadequate escape routes.

For small- and medium-sized transit agencies, finding the necessary resources to deploy security forces in needed areas can be difficult due to the cost of adding personnel to the payroll. Dedicated police or security forces are typically only maintained by large transit agencies that have the resources available, and the frequency of crime which requires their presence. The risks of an operator are not predetermined, in other words, violent passengers do not wear warning signs to inform the operator that they may be of danger. Plus, there is no screening prior to boarding the bus such as metal detectors to warn of weapons. The openness of public transit systems makes them unprotectable using modern security technology. The best defense for small- and medium-sized transit agencies is to have an immediate response policy in place to address threats of violence or violent incidents.

A 1996 working paper (Kompier, M.) by the Department of Work and Organizational Psychology, University of Nijmegen, Netherlands, titled, Bus Drivers: Occupational Stress and Stress Prevention, emphasizes both stress intervention and prevention.8 The paper describes the tasks of a bus driver as mentally demanding with conflicting requirements. The agency and the public demand a service-oriented driver, assisting and providing information to passengers while keeping to a tight schedule in addition to the need to drive safely. The author highlights the additionally increasing stress of being subjected to threats and violence from disorderly and disruptive passengers. Based on practical examples, the paper recommends preventing and combating work stress among bus drivers by instating measures to adjust the work environment to the abilities and needs of workers, through a better person-environment fit while utilizing the traditional

8 Kompier, M., 1996. Bus Drivers: Occupational Stress and Stress Prevention, Department of Work and Organizational Psychology, University of Nijmegen, Netherlands. Accessed January 3, 2013 at http://www.bvsde.paho.org/bvsast/i/fulltext/bustress/bustress.pdf

Final Report 81

approaches, usually by counseling individuals or small groups of employees on ways to adapt to, or cope with various occupational stressors and/or their consequences.

That paper contains examples of policies on re-education on stress management training, improving ergonomics, addressing shift schedules and the quality of break periods, team work and consultation, individually adjusted schedules, rehabilitation and social medical guidance, and other measures as well. Some examples of preventing aggression and violent behavior included closing off driver cabins at night and on high-risk routes, increasing the frequency of inspection and ticket control, installing an alarm button, maintain direct contact with mobile control teams, training drivers on dealing with aggressive passengers, training supervisors in coping with drivers who have been assaulted or intimidated, and arranging individual work resumption plans for those drivers who have suffered from violence.

A recent report called “Bus operator safety – Critical issues examination and model practices,” (CUTR)9 conducted for the Florida Department of Transportation closely examined several aspects of transit bus operator safety and current model practices within the various transit agencies throughout the state. The chapters within this report touch on the organizational structure and reporting of safety related issues within the transit agencies, the bus operator assaults including post-event and return-to-duty practices following an assault on a bus operator, model policies and procedures for driver’s license and criminal background checks, and bus operator training programs and recommended safety training practices. It was determined that while the majority of transit agencies in the state do have separate safety department in their agency, there is no consistency regarding the amount of authority the safety department has.

To further accentuate the challenges associated with assaults in the public transit sector, it is necessary to consider the effects assaults have on the operator. Some agencies have recognized the value of not only having prevention and response tactics for their operators, but also providing support programs such as employee assistance programs, monetary benefits such as ongoing financial support during recovery, recompense for the loss of wages or damage and/or loss of personal property, opportunity for reassignment or light- duty assignments, and life insurance that pays survivor benefits in the event a bus operator dies as a result of the injuries sustained in an assault. In an effort to keep all associated parties safety in mind, there were recommendations developed for the pre- and post- employment cycle length on driver’s license and criminal history background checks. These checks ensure that the transit bus operator remains in compliance with all minimum requirements, even after the hiring process is completed. This report also recommended the improvement of the training process and model programs ensuring that several delivery methods are used to increase the probability of each transit bus operator retaining the required information regardless of their learning style.

9 Lisa Staes, Jay A. Goodwill, and Roberta Yegidis, National Center for Transit Research (NCTR), Center for Urban Transportation Research (CUTR), Bus operator safety critical issues examination and model practices, January 2014, accessed October 12, 2015 at http://www.nctr.usf.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/77953-Bus-Oper- Safety-Critical-Issues.pdf

Final Report 82

A New York Times article, “When passengers spit, bus drivers take months off,“ (M. Grynbaum), reported that of all the assaults that prompted a bus operator to take paid leave in 2009, a third of them, 51 in total, “involved a spat upon,” according to statistics the MTA. 10 On average, paid leave involved 64 days off work, the equivalent of three months with pay, and one driver spent 191 days on paid leave. John Samuelsen, the president of the Transport Workers Union Local 100, was quoted in the article, “If transit workers are assaulted, they are going to take off whatever amount of time they are going to take off to recuperate.” Samuelsen admits being spat upon, especially in the face, mouth or eyes, can be an extremely traumatic experience which causes concern for disease transmittal, meaning many of the operators go to the hospital to receive medical screenings after such an incident occurs. This article also mentions that there is heightened sensitivity to the dangers transit bus operators face following the stabbing related death of a transit bus driver in Brooklyn in 2008, which occurred as a result of a fare dispute.

The Sage Journal’s Association for Psychological Science published, “Directed attention as a common resource for executive functioning and self-regulation,” (S. Kaplan and M. Berman), which described self-regulation as the ability to control one’s self and behave in an acceptable manner, even in tempting and/or distracting scenarios.11 Self-regulation is a limited resource which is drawn upon by executive functioning, which is the managing of one’s self to achieve a goal, each of which are finite and able to be depleted. The depletion of these necessary resources cause fatigue and impact one’s performance abilities to complete a task. Furthermore, when an individual is forced to divide their attention their ability to inhibit socially inappropriate responses was reduced, confirming that distractions further limit one’s capacity for response inhibition. One example of this lack of appropriate response capacity is impulsive aggressive response due to unregulated emotional exhaustion, further defining fatigue as a pre-determinate for aggressive response.

An Elsevier Journal of Personality and Individual Differences article, “Emotional processing and frontal asymmetry in impulsive aggressive individuals,” (Sarah L. Lake, Matthew S. Stanford, and Jim H. Patton), defines impulsive aggression as an unplanned, immediate, violent response to minimal provocation and is often emotional, which could stem from fatigue or other outside stressors, and is accompanied by poor self- regulation and loss of behavioral control.12 In addition, individuals with dysfunctional anger or anxiety disorders accentuate the lack of self-control, leading to an increased likelihood of aggressive reaction. In other words, some people have more difficulty regulating the emotions required to remain in complete self-control, especially under stress provocative situations.

The Sage Journal’s Association for Psychological Science published, “The strength model of self-control,” (R. Baumeister, K. Vohs, and D. Tice), which examines self-control as a

10 Michael Grynbaum, When Passengers Spit, Bus Drivers Take Months Off, New York Times, May 24, 2010. Accessed February 21, 2013 at http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/25/nyregion/25spit.html?_r=0 11 Stephen Kaplan and Marc G. Berman, “Directed Attention as a Common Resource for Executive Functioning and Self-Regulation,” Perspectives on Psychological Science, 2010. Accessed September 24, 2015 at http://pps.sagepub.com/content/5/1/43.full.pdf+html 12 Sarah L. Lake, Matthew S. Stanford, and Jim H. Patton, “Emotional processing and frontal asymmetry in impulsive aggressive individuals,” Elsevier, July 19, 2014. Accessed September 24, 2015.

Final Report 83

limited resource. 13 It was determined through several conducted studies that distraction, fatigue, and stress are all drawn from a common limited resource known as self-regulation, and the depletion of self-regulation may cause fatigue and lead to impulse-driven aggressive behaviors. In addition, evidence shows that ego-depletion contributes to problem behaviors such as excessive alcohol consumption, overeating, prejudicial discrimination, and violence. Further studies performed by Tice and Baumeister touched on restoring the self, following ego depletion.

The Elsevier Journal of Experimental Social Psychology published, “Restoring the self: positive affect helps improve self-regulation following ego-depletion,” (D. Tice, R. Baumeister, D. Shmueli, and M. Muraven), which discussed the results of four experiments performed to determine if positive mood or emotion can counteract ego-depletion.14 All four studies conducted created a state of ego depletion by repeatedly engaging in self- regulation, and found that an induced positive mood resulted in the improvement of self- regulation. Furthermore, it was concluded that a dose of positive affect has remarkable power to restore self-capacity and willingness to exert control and volition.

From the previous reports, there is evidence that self-regulation is not only a limited resource, but also a replenish-able resource. In addition, the theory that depleting one’s self-regulation increases their likelihood of aggressive response or aggressive behavior was concluded. The next focus is to determine exactly what pre-determinates lead to the depletion of self-regulation. The major characteristics hypothesized to be pre-determinates of aggression are fatigue and distraction according to the literature reviews.

Fatigue is a suboptimal psychophysiological condition caused by exertion which results in changes in strategies or resource use such that original levels of mental processing and/or physical activity is reduced according to “A review of definitions of fatigue – And a step towards a whole definition,” (R. Phillips).15 Phillips continues to delve deeper into fatigue, noting that fatigue is performance decrement that is associated with circadian rhythms. Circadian rhythm factors are daily oscillations in human biological rhythms which have been found to effect human efficiency of execution of tasks.

Fatigue is also referred to as a feeling of burnout, and in this context referred to as “job burnout”. Job burnout is defined as a prolonged response to chronic emotional and interpersonal stressors on the job, primarily from exhaustion, cynicism, and inefficacy as reported by, “Job burnout,” (Maslach, Schaufeli, & Leiter)16. Job burnout is the result of prolonged workplace demands which lead to emotional exhaustion as well as depersonalization and a reduced sense of worth or personal accomplishment. Emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced self-worth are known to lead to reduced

13 Roy Baumeister, Kathleen Vohs, and Dianne Tice, “The Strength Model of Self-Control,” Association for Psychological Science, 2007. Accessed September 25, 2015 at http://www- personal.umich.edu/~prestos/Consumption/pdfs/BaumeisterVohsTice2007.pdf 14 Dianne Tice, Roy Baumeister, Dikla Shmueli, and Mark Muraven, “Restoring the self: Positive affect helps improve self-regulation following ego depletion,” Elsevier Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 2007. 15 Ross O. Phillips, “A review of definitions of fatigue – And a step towards a whole definition,” Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, Volume 29, February 2015 16 Christina Maslach, Wilmar B. Schaufeli, and Michael P. Leiter, “Job burnout,” Annual Review of Psychology, Volume 52 pages 397-422, February 2001, accessed October 5, 2015 at http://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev.psych.52.1.397

Final Report 84

productivity, reduced job satisfaction, increased absenteeism and employee turnover, and in turn an increased risk for aggressive behavior.

Just as fatigue can be caused by distraction, distraction may also be caused by fatigue. For instance, if one is so fatigued that they simply do not have the mental capability to focus on the task at hand, then they are also distracted. As mentioned previously, distraction and fatigue draw on a common limited resource, self-regulation, and the depletion of self- regulation leads to an increased likelihood of aggressive response.10

Distraction in the sense of a pre-determinate of aggressive behavior is mostly due to mental distractions stemming from circumstances that lead to angst and other feelings of discomfort. However, according to “Social psychology principles,” (Stangor)17 cognitive dissonance is the discomfort felt resulting from behavior that is seen as inappropriate, such as not living up to self-expectations. Frustration may be felt due to mental distractions, or due to unrealistic expectations while working, and is just one of the feelings that may be associated with cognitive dissonance. Stangor continues to explain that anything that leads to discomfort or negative emotions can increase aggression.

Some pre-determinates of aggressive response and aggressive behavior have been determined to be distraction and fatigue, which may stem from home or work environments. The public transit bus operator is exposed to undue amounts of stress while on the job which lead to fatigue and distraction, and if left unaddressed, may also lead to aggression. One specific challenge associated with the transit bus operator is the requirement to remain on a strict time schedule while maneuvering in often dense and congested traffic along the transit routes. A report recently released called, “Mass transit workers, urban publics, and the politics of time in San Francisco,” (Fleming)18 discloses the frustrations often vented on the driver regarding the tardiness of the transit bus in reference to the schedule which the transit bus operator is attempting to adhere to. Often times the users of the transit bus system perceive their time as more valuable than the operator’s time, and blame the operator for the delays which they encounter. This blame and frustration leads to disrespect on the part of the passenger, which often leads to disrespect on the part of the transit bus operator, and events can quickly escalate if proper training is not conducted and adhered to in these types of situations. In addition to dealing with unruly or disrespectful customers, the transit bus operator is also required to adhere to impossible schedules leading to the operator receiving no time for restroom or stretching breaks, and still not arriving on time. This has been connected with several health related issues faced by the operators including bladder infections and back/posture problems. Each of these undesired requirements can lead to increased fatigue and distraction, and thus an increased probability of aggressive response or aggressive behavior.

Given the understanding of these pre-determinates for aggression, in addition to the comprehension of the safety-related policies, procedures, regulations and rules already established within the transit agencies in the state of Florida, and the recommended training

17 Charles Stangor, “Social psychology principles,” Version 1.0 Chapter 3.2, 2012. Accessed October 5, 2015 at http://2012books.lardbucket.org/books/social-psychology-principles/ 18 Mark Fleming, “Mass transit workersm urban publics, and the politics of time in San Francisco,” July, 2014 accessed at http://escholarship.org/uc/item/2139f3cc

Final Report 85

and support available for the transit bus operators, the transit safety narrative should convey public transit as safe and secure. However, according to “A new transit safety narrative,” (Litman)19 many people consider transit travel dangerous and are reluctant to use it or support service expansions despite the relatively low crash risk and low crime risk associated with transit travel. In general, this study found that people tend to underestimate automobile travel risks and exaggerate public transit travel risks. The data reveals that transit travel not only has less than one tenth the crash casualty rate as automobile travel, but also, transit crimes tend to be less frequent and less costly than motor vehicle crimes. This report emphasizes that the overall perception of transit should be a safe one, noting the ever-improving efforts made in the industry to continuously increase safety for all users and operators.

This literature review serves as a comprehensive overview of transit bus operator and passenger safety. Including the identification and collection of safety-related procedures, policies, regulations, and rules established by Florida’s public transit agencies. It also includes an examination of formal publications and newspaper and online news articles; guidelines and recommended practices developed by industry groups, including the Amalgamated Transit Union, Transportation Workers United labor organizations, and the American Public Transportation Association (APTA); and other research reporting sources. Finally, this literature review includes those elements that may be present that could be considered pre-determinates in bus operator and passenger assaults. This examination provides a platform for additional research and potentially the development of tools or other resources to assist public transit agencies to further mitigate bus operator or passenger assaults and other aggressive behavior.

19 Todd Litman, National Center for Transit Research (NCTR), Center for Urban Transportation Research (CUTR), “A new transit safety narrative,” Journal of Public Transportation Volume 17, Issue 4, 2014. Accessed at http://www.nctr.usf.edu/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/JPT17.4_Litman.pdf

Final Report 86

Appendix B – Passenger and Operator Incidents & Assaults Transit System Questionnaire

Agency: ______(NTDID: ______)

A. Project Goals Identify prevalence of assaults on bus passengers and bus operators – both assaults meeting the threshold for an NTD Major Incident and assaults recorded and tracked by the agency that may be at thresholds sigificantly less than NTD Major Incident reporting requirements – by time of day, location (on board vehicle, transfer station, bus stop), type of service (paratransit, fixed route, commuter express); at 20 Florida agencies; and, associated with conflict with operators or another passenger, tied to theft, or after deboarded.

Identify any environmental factors that may contribute to an increased occurrence of assaults.

Identify any mitigation measures the agency has employed to reduce the incidence of assaults, and any measures other agencies are using that have proven successful in curtailing assaults on operators and/or passengers.

B. Interview Questions 1. For each mode, please indicate the number of vehicles operated in maximum service by type of service, i.e., directly operated or purchased; the number of routes provided via fixed route service; and, service hours: Directly Purchased Service Service Mode Operated Service # Routes Days Hours Bus (MB) Commuter Bus (CB) Bus Rapid Transit (RB) Demand Response (DR)

2. Contract service providers for Purchased Service: Mode Purchased Service Providers Bus (MB) Commuter Bus (CB) Bus Rapid Transit (RB) Demand Response (DR)

Final Report 87

3. Do Operators crossover between Fixed Route and Demand Response? Describe Specialized Crossover Yes or No Describe Selection Criteria Training All crossover Some

crossover No crossover Occasionally

4. Are Employees represented by a labor union? Classification Union Representation Local # Fixed Route Bus Operators Demand Response

Operators Bus Supervisors Maintenance Workers

5. Describe the basis and frequency for determining how an Operator’s shifts, hours, and routes are determined (selected). Selection/Assignment Shifts Hours Routes Basis Frequency

6. Date of most recent System Safety Program Plan update: ______.

7. Reporting relationship of agency personnel responsible for System Safety & Security: Safety & Security Personnel Supervisor Subordinates

8. Responsibilities of System Safety & Security Personnel: Safety & Security Personnel Responsibilities Training Accident investigation Incident investigation Data recording Data tracking Data reporting Safety Committee role NTD reporting Hazard investigation

Final Report 88

9. Describe agency role and responsibility for Risk Management: Agency Personnel Risk Management Responsibilities

10. Describe role and responsibility for Risk Management of a Risk Management group external to the Agency (e.g., county risk management): External Risk Management Personnel External Risk Management Responsibilities

Agency and External Risk Management Group Coordination Activities

11. Detail components of Initial Operator Training and Testing: Topics Trainer General agency rules Customer service Fare handling Radio procedures Emergencies Security threats On-the-Road

Total Hours/Days of Initial Training Hours _____ Days _____

12. Describe On-going/Refresher Training and Testing: Frequency Duration Every year – Every 2 years – Every 3 years Hours _____ Days _____ Topics Trainer

Final Report 89

13. Describe use of Remedial Training and Testing: Agency Personnel Responsibilities Authorized to make referral for remedial training Provider of remedial training Actions That Necessitate Remedial Training

14. Event investigation Define “Accident”

Define “Incident”

15. Describe steps involved from the reporting of an accident through the accident investigative process: Agency Personnel Responsibilities

16. Describe steps involved from the reporting of an incident through the incident investigative process: Agency Personnel Responsibilities

Final Report 90

17. Describe steps involved from receiving a complaint through the complaint investigation/resolution process: Agency Personnel Responsibilities

Locations where the Phone Number for Reporting a Complaint is Posted

18. Describe the purpose of the Safety Committee, including the roles and responsibilities of the Safety Committee members and the frequency of meetings: Safety Committee Purpose

Safety Committee Meeting Schedule

Safety Committee Members Responsibilities

19. Describe the agency’s policy on the use of personal wireless communication devices by operators of agency vehicles, including the use of progressive discipline for violation of the agency’s policies: Agency Policy on the Use of Personal Wireless Communication Devices

Disciplinary Action for Violation of Agency’s Policy on the Use of a Personal Wireless Communications Device

Final Report 91

20. Describe use of technology within the Agency: Vehicles/Stations/ Audio Video Live Feed Use in Transfer Centers Available Available Available* Investigation

*Specify how the public is notified of the existence of the live feed.

21. Describe use of Security Personnel within the Agency: Administration/Stations/ Full-time Part-time Contract Hours of Transfer Centers Agency Agency Personnel Coverage Personnel Personnel

22. Identify the types of corrective actions the Agency has incorporated within the past 2 years: Corrective Action Nature of Use Retraining Discipline/Progressive discipline Modified operator’s shift Modified a route Adjustments to driver- compartment

23. Describe the Agency’s use of Restricted Access (trespass) for Passengers, including the jurisdiction responsible for issuing the restriction, the length of restriction, and the appeal process: Agency Policy on the Use of Restricted Access

Jurisdiction Responsible for Issuing Trespass

Length of Restriction

Appeal Process

24. Describe Safety Campaigns undertaken in the past several years: Agency Safety Campaigns

Final Report 92

25. Identify Disruptive Groups, e.g., unruly students and/or homeless persons at transfer stations, and detail special programs instituted to resolve conflict: Disruptive Group Special Programs Instituted to Resolve Conflict

26. Please provide the following data: Most recent System Safety Program Plan Driver/Operator Handbook Accident Log, 2013-2014 Incident Log, 2013-2014 Complaint Log, 2013-2014

27. Individuals participating in the interview:

Final Report 93