BACKGROUND

Research has documented that transit workers experience significant health problems in large part as a result of the physical demands of vehicle operation, work environment, work schedules, the sedentary nature of some jobs, and general constraints on healthy behavior.   The results can affect the bottom line of transit agency budgets through increased absenteeism, early retirement, health care costs, and difficulty in attracting and retaining new employees.  Inadequate access to, or problems with, fragmented health care may exacerbate these problems. 

From a health management perspective, conditions often progress undetected and may not be routinely monitored.  These broader health issues can also affect the transit professionals’ well-being and their ability to sustain required professional credentials.  In addition, these problems may impede their safe performance of essential job functions.    

Loss of well-trained employees, absenteeism, worker's compensation claims, health care costs, and risk management expenses are just a few of the adverse outcomes that can translate into transit agency as well as individual and societal costs.  Improving the health and safety of the transit workforce and keeping quality employees on the job longer promises to be a source of cost savings.

OBJECTIVE

The objectives of this research were to

1.    Define and quantify the health and safety issues facing public transit workers;

2.    Using existing information resources, estimate the costs associated with employee health issues; and characterize to the degree possible how these costs are distributed to individuals, transit agencies, and society;

3.    Identify and describe scalable and sustainable strategies successfully implemented in transit agencies; and

4.    Identify and evaluate potential methods for measuring cost-benefits and cost-effectiveness of these programs to individuals, transit agencies, and society.

RESEARCH PLAN

In response to the stated objectives, the research plan addressed the following tasks: 

1.   Identify the scope and scale of transit worker health issues and related safety concerns.

a.    What are the health issues and what factors contribute to those issues? 

b.    How are these health issues and contributing factors identified, either currently or potentially, and what metrics are used to measure their impact on transit employee service?

c.    What costs are associated with these issues?

d.    How is the financial burden distributed among individuals, transit agencies, and society at large?

2.   Identify and describe current approaches and possible solutions to specific health and safety problems affecting transit employees.

a.    What are the existing approaches?

b.    Where and how are they used?

c.    What resources are involved?

d.    What is the impact on health and related safety issues (for example, vehicle accidents)?

e.    What methods are you proposing to gather this information? 

3.   Identify tools and techniques for measuring program costs, benefits, and effectiveness.

a.    Who benefits and who pays?

b.    What are the costs and how are they measured?

c.    What are the benefits and how are they measured?

d.    What is effectiveness and how is it measured?

4.   Identify transit agency requirements—opportunities and constraints, both internal and external—for implementing potential solutions and tools.

a.    What barriers exist to implementing the study products?

b.    What steps are proposed to lessen or overcome these barriers?

c.    What incentives exist for using study products?

d.    What tools and techniques are available to support allocation of funds and implementation of necessary improvements?

e.    What are the next steps building on this research?

Status: The study is now complete, and the Final Report, a PPT Presentation, and a separate Executive Summary are all available on the TRB web page..