Bus Operator Safety - Critical Issues Examination and Model Practices FDOT: BDK85 977-48 NCTR 13(07) FINAL REPORT January 2014 PREPARED FOR Florida Department of Transportation Bus Operator Safety Critical Issues Examination and Model Practices Final Report Funded By: FDOT Project Managers: Robert Westbrook, Transit Operations Administrator Victor Wiley, Transit Safety Program 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 Jay A. Goodwill, Senior Research Associate Roberta Yegidis, Affiliated Faculty January 2014 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 Department of Transportation University Transportation Centers Program and the Florida Department of Transportation, in the interest of information exchange. The U.S. Government and the Florida Department of Transportation assume 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 State of Florida Department of Transportation. Final Report ii 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 iii Technical Documentation Page 1. Report No. 2. Government Accession No. 3. Recipient's Catalog No. 4. Title and Subtitle: 5. Report Date Bus Operator Safety - Critical Issues Examination and Model January 2014 Practices 6. Performing Organization Code 7. Author(s) 8. Performing Organization Report Lisa Staes, Jay Goodwill, Roberta Yegidis No. BDK85 977-48 NCTR 77953-02 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 BDK85-977-48 12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address 13. Type of Report and Period Covered Final Report Research and Innovative Technology Administration 10/26/2012 – 2/28/2014 U.S. Department of Transportation, Mail Code RDT-30 14. Sponsoring Agency Code 1200 New Jersey Ave, SE, Room E33, Washington, DC 20590-0001 Florida Department of Transportation Research Center 605 Suwannee Street, MS 30, Tallahassee, FL 32399 15. Supplementary Notes 16. Abstract In this study, researchers at the National Center for Transit Research performed a multi-topic comprehensive examination of bus operator-related critical safety and personal security issues. The goals of this research effort were to: 1. Identify and discuss the organizational reporting structure related to safety departments and/or function within each of the 30 fixed route public transit agencies in Florida, with input also provided by transit agencies from across the U.S.; 2. Identify and document model policies and practices that address the post event condition of bus operators and their ability to return to duty; 3. Summarize the current practices related to driver’s licenses and criminal history background checks and identify model policies or procedures related to these record checks; 4. Examine the training opportunities being provided by transit agencies and report the successes of these training programs on reducing the safety and security issues related to distracted driving and assaults; and 5. Provide recommendations on how transit agencies can improve their training processes to be more effective in dealing with both the safety and security related issues discussed in this research. 17. Key Words 18. Distribution Statement public transit, driver’s license, background checks, 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 241 Final Report iv Acknowledgements This research report was prepared by the National Center for Transit Research for the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT). The Research Team would like to express our appreciation for FDOT staff members Victor Wiley, Robert Westbrook, and Elizabeth Stutts for their oversight, management, and support of this research effort. 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. This group, detailed within the report, includes representatives from the Florida’s public transit community and transit systems from across the United States and Canada. Finally, the Research Team would like to recognized the efforts of CUTR faculty and staff who contributed to this research effort including: Sarah Hendricks, Nevine Georggi, Amber Reep, Stephanie Lewis, Martin Catala, Jan Davis and Victoria Perk. Final Report v 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. One of the most critical safety elements within a transit agency is safety management. There are a variety of ways in which safety departments or structures are organized and equal variation in the way in which safety is managed within transit agencies. This research will begin by identifying the structure of the safety program within transit agencies across the state of Florida. Central to the success of a transit agency and the corresponding safety management system within the agency are transit bus operators - they are an agency’s first responders for any incident involving their vehicles, and they are responsible for the safety of their passengers. A significant threat to transit safety is the ever-increasing prevalence of assaults, both on bus operators and on transit passengers. This threat is even more pervasive when these events and other traumatic events (such as accidents that result in fatalities, as an example) result in the inability of a bus operator to return to his position. The methods utilized by transit agencies to counter the physical and psychological impacts of these events, including the use of employee assistance programs and other tools, were studied in this research activity. In addition, to better ensure the safety of passengers and the public, transit agencies perform record reviews for both new hires and existing bus operators to confirm their eligibility to drive and to ensure that they are free from any criminal history that would disqualify them from a position that requires engagement with passengers and the public on an ongoing basis. The two reviews consistently used within the public transit industry are driver’s license or motor vehicle record (MVRs) and criminal history background checks. There is dissimilarity in the public transit industry in the policies and procedures established for the review of these records. While all transit agencies perform these reviews for new bus operator hires, the frequency and level of review, as well as the events that prompt an out-of-cycle review vary from system to system. A transit agency’s success at establishing a safety culture within their organization, based on safety management system approaches, is highly dependent upon well-trained, dedicated employees. Training of public transit operators is critically important to the safe operation of transit systems. While many transit training programs exist throughout the country, there are few that would be considered standardized. Additionally, many of these programs are longstanding and have not been updated to include new educational theories, concepts, and delivery mechanisms. In general, the industry’s approach to public transit operator training includes offering training at the beginning of employment and, thereafter, it is only delivered intermittently (refresher training and remedial training). Final Report vi Scope of Study In this study, researchers at the National Center for Transit Research (NCTR) performed a multi-topic comprehensive examination of bus operator-related critical safety and personal security issues. The goals of this research effort were to: 1. Identify and discuss the organizational reporting structure related to safety departments and/or function within each of the 30 fixed route public transit agencies in Florida, with input also provided by transit agencies from across the U.S.; 2. Identify and document model policies and practices that address the post-event condition of bus operators and their ability to return to duty; 3. Summarize the current practices related to driver’s licenses and criminal history background checks and identify model policies or procedures related to these record checks; 4. Examine the training opportunities being provided by transit agencies and report the successes of these training programs on reducing safety and security issues; and, 5.