Unmistakably, 9/11 heightened every person’s senses to the need to feel safe and secure to an unequaled level. Almost a decade later, the events of that day dictate how this country travels. And, in addition to domestic or international terrorism are still the concerns of workplace violence, the spillover of domestic violence, and the destruction and devastation from natural disasters.
Public transit systems face many of the same safety and security concerns as other service industries. Beyond the immediate trauma of intentional harm to an employee, a destroyed vehicle, or a vandalized facility, there can be disruptions to operations and emotionally disturbing repercussions to employees and passengers that could shatter a transit system’s basic operations. As a result, transit systems must be proactive in their plans and preparation to identify, minimize, and hopefully, eliminate this risk to ultimately protect the safety of its passengers and staff. In addition, public transit systems can play a vital role in its community emergency preparedness plans, assisting with not only evacuation, but also transporting workers and supplies to affected areas.
RLS has assisted public transit systems in this area by providing safety and security management training, development of safety and security plan templates, accident investigation, community emergency response, and more. RLS assesses the unique operating environment and opportunities of each transit system and community and developments practical, implementable solutions to address its safety and security concerns. RLS also developed the Transit Bus System Safety Course for the Federal Transit Administration, Transportation Safety Institute. This course, which incorporates research from the Transportation Research Board Project A-18, includes best practices in prevention of passenger incidents and vehicle crashes, behavioral safety concepts, safety awareness and management, safety audits and checklists, operator selection and employee training, accident data tracking and trend analysis, hazard analysis and resolution, facility design, routing and scheduling, vehicle maintenance, facility and operations security and vehicle design and technology.
