How do transit bus collisions relate to the bus driver’s time at work? Collisions and operator fatigue are priority safety concerns in public transportation. In this initial analysis, we explore their relationship with pooled agency resources.
Transit Safety Analysis: Bus Collisions and the Drivers’ Time on Shift
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MITRE and five transit agencies jointly explored how bus collisions correlate with the bus operator’s time at work through a shared safety analysis partnership. Specifically, we analyzed operator work hours and collisions across agencies serving Washington, D.C.; Philadelphia, PA; Atlanta, GA; Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN; and San Diego, CA for the years 2018–2023.
This initial analysis found collision rates are higher than average during operator shifts following three days without working. Beyond identifying specific hours-of-service hazards related to bus collisions, the analysis also successfully demonstrated that multi-agency safety analytics can produce insights to inform actions by each transit agency to reduce fatalities and injuries.
The analysis partners recommend that transit agencies, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), and others in the transit safety community jointly advance additional research to drive safety actions related to hours-of-service patterns, including through shared, confidential access to bus collision and hours-of-service data.