BACKGROUND

Providing safe public transit bus services is a core objective of all public transit agencies, local governments, and the organizations that fund and regulate public transportation. While considerable effort has been made to improve the safety of bus transit services, these efforts have not fully addressed the causal (i.e., underlying) factors of bus collisions. Causal factors may be categorized as primary, root, direct, or contributing factors. Eliminating or reducing these factors could mitigate the likelihood and severity of bus collisions and improve safety performance. 

Data and information are available on public transit bus collisions from a range of sources including the federal government, transit agencies, states, and transit risk and insurance pools. Researchers should be aware that reporting of collision data may be affected by applicable law, litigation, and the apportionment of liability. Additionally, identifying the causes of public transit bus collisions from these data is challenging due to variability in data collection methods and definitional inconsistencies used by transit agencies and accident investigators. This variability complicates efforts to accurately determine causal factors of bus collisions, which is important to developing effective strategies to reduce the likelihood and severity of public transit bus collisions with motorized vehicles, nonmotorized vehicles, pedestrians, and fixed objects. 

Despite the considerable interest in public transit safety, research is needed on the causal factors of public transit bus collisions and effective mitigation strategies.  

OBJECTIVES

The objectives of this research are to (1) identify the key causal factors of public transit bus collisions with motorized vehicles, nonmotorized vehicles, pedestrians, and fixed objects, (2) present practical strategies that can be implemented to mitigate the likelihood and severity of bus collisions, and (3) identify the roles and responsibilities of transit agencies and other relevant stakeholders to improve safety. 

This research may consider the following matters regarding causal factors and mitigation strategies: environmental; human (including bus operators, other vehicle operators, and pedestrians); infrastructure; operating environment; public education and awareness; regulation and enforcement; training, procedures, policies, and reporting requirements; vehicle attributes and performance characteristics; and working conditions.

RESEARCH PLAN

The research plan will describe appropriate deliverables that include the following (which also represent key project milestones):  

• An amplified research plan that responds to comments provided by the project panel at the subawardee selection meeting.
• An interim report and panel meeting. The interim report should include the analyses and results of completed tasks, a plan for the remaining tasks, and a detailed outline of the final research product(s). The panel meeting will be virtual (e.g., TEAMS) and will take place after the panel review of the interim report. The interim report should be submitted, and the panel meeting should occur after the expenditure of about 40 to 50 percent of the project budget.
• Final deliverables. The final deliverables should fully address this research project’s objectives.
• A technical memorandum titled “Implementation of Research Findings and Products”.
• A slide deck that presents the research findings and conclusions that may be used in webinars. 

STATUS: Proposals have been received in response to the RFP. The project panel will meet to select a contractor to perform the work.