Guidebook for Mitigating Fixed-Route Bus-and-Pedestrian Collisions (2008)

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TRANSPORTAT ION RESEARCH BOARD WASHINGTON, D.C. 2008 www.TRB.org T R A N S I T C O O P E R A T I V E R E S E A R C H P R O G R A M TCRP REPORT 125 Research sponsored by the Federal Transit Administration in cooperation with the Transit Development Corporation Subject Areas Public Transit Guidebook for Mitigating Fixed-Route Bus-and-Pedestrian Collisions Kelley Klaver Pecheux Jocelyn Bauer Sheryl Miller Jennifer Rephlo SAIC McLean, VA Harry Saporta PB AMERICAS, INC. Washington, DC A N D Samantha Erickson Sue Knapp Jason Quan KFH GROUP Bethesda, MD

TCRP REPORT 125 Project A-28 ISSN 1073-4872 ISBN: 978-0-309-09915-8 Library of Congress Control Number 2008920335 © 2008 Transportation Research Board COPYRIGHT PERMISSION Authors herein are responsible for the authenticity of their materials and for obtaining written permissions from publishers or persons who own the copyright to any previously published or copyrighted material used herein. Cooperative Research Programs (CRP) grants permission to reproduce material in this publication for classroom and not-for-profit purposes. Permission is given with the understanding that none of the material will be used to imply TRB, AASHTO, FAA, FHWA, FMCSA, FTA, or Transit Development Corporation endorsement of a particular product, method, or practice. It is expected that those reproducing the material in this document for educational and not-for-profit uses will give appropriate acknowledgment of the source of any reprinted or reproduced material. For other uses of the material, request permission from CRP. NOTICE The project that is the subject of this report was a part of the Transit Cooperative Research Program conducted by the Transportation Research Board with the approval of the Governing Board of the National Research Council. Such approval reflects the Governing Board’s judgment that the project concerned is appropriate with respect to both the purposes and resources of the National Research Council. The members of the technical advisory panel selected to monitor this project and to review this report were chosen for recognized scholarly competence and with due consideration for the balance of disciplines appropriate to the project. The opinions and conclusions expressed or implied are those of the research agency that performed the research, and while they have been accepted as appropriate by the technical panel, they are not necessarily those of the Transportation Research Board, the National Research Council, the Transit Development Corporation, or the Federal Transit Administration of the U.S. Department of Transportation. Each report is reviewed and accepted for publication by the technical panel according to procedures established and monitored by the Transportation Research Board Executive Committee and the Governing Board of the National Research Council. The Transportation Research Board of the National Academies, the National Research Council, the Transit Development Corporation, and the Federal Transit Administration (sponsor of the Transit Cooperative Research Program) do not endorse products or manufacturers. Trade or manufacturers’ names appear herein solely because they are considered essential to the clarity and completeness of the project reporting. TRANSIT COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAM The nation’s growth and the need to meet mobility, environmental, and energy objectives place demands on public transit systems. Current systems, some of which are old and in need of upgrading, must expand service area, increase service frequency, and improve efficiency to serve these demands. Research is necessary to solve operating problems, to adapt appropriate new technologies from other industries, and to intro- duce innovations into the transit industry. The Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) serves as one of the principal means by which the transit industry can develop innovative near-term solutions to meet demands placed on it. The need for TCRP was originally identified in TRB Special Report 213—Research for Public Transit: New Directions, published in 1987 and based on a study sponsored by the Urban Mass Transportation Administration—now the Federal Transit Administration (FTA). A report by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA), Transportation 2000, also recognized the need for local, problem- solving research. TCRP, modeled after the longstanding and success- ful National Cooperative Highway Research Program, undertakes research and other technical activities in response to the needs of tran- sit service providers. The scope of TCRP includes a variety of transit research fields including planning, service configuration, equipment, facilities, operations, human resources, maintenance, policy, and administrative practices. TCRP was established under FTA sponsorship in July 1992. Pro- posed by the U.S. Department of Transportation, TCRP was autho- rized as part of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA). On May 13, 1992, a memorandum agreement out- lining TCRP operating procedures was executed by the three cooper- ating organizations: FTA, the National Academies, acting through the Transportation Research Board (TRB); and the Transit Development Corporation, Inc. (TDC), a nonprofit educational and research orga- nization established by APTA. TDC is responsible for forming the independent governing board, designated as the TCRP Oversight and Project Selection (TOPS) Committee. Research problem statements for TCRP are solicited periodically but may be submitted to TRB by anyone at any time. It is the responsibility of the TOPS Committee to formulate the research program by identi- fying the highest priority projects. As part of the evaluation, the TOPS Committee defines funding levels and expected products. Once selected, each project is assigned to an expert panel, appointed by the Transportation Research Board. The panels prepare project state- ments (requests for proposals), select contractors, and provide techni- cal guidance and counsel throughout the life of the project. The process for developing research problem statements and selecting research agencies has been used by TRB in managing cooperative research pro- grams since 1962. As in other TRB activities, TCRP project panels serve voluntarily without compensation. Because research cannot have the desired impact if products fail to reach the intended audience, special emphasis is placed on dissemi- nating TCRP results to the intended end users of the research: tran- sit agencies, service providers, and suppliers. TRB provides a series of research reports, syntheses of transit practice, and other support- ing material developed by TCRP research. APTA will arrange for workshops, training aids, field visits, and other activities to ensure that results are implemented by urban and rural transit industry practitioners. The TCRP provides a forum where transit agencies can cooperatively address common operational problems. The TCRP results support and complement other ongoing transit research and training programs. Published reports of the TRANSIT COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAM are available from: Transportation Research Board Business Office 500 Fifth Street, NW Washington, DC 20001 and can be ordered through the Internet at http://www.national-academies.org/trb/bookstore Printed in the United States of America

CRP STAFF FOR TCRP REPORT 125 Christopher W. Jenks, Director, Cooperative Research Programs Crawford F. Jencks, Deputy Director, Cooperative Research Programs Dianne S. Schwager, Senior Program Officer Eileen P. Delaney, Director of Publications Andréa Briere, Editor Maria Sabin Crawford, Assistant Editor TCRP PROJECT A-28 PANEL Field of Operations Kenneth D. Goldberg, Rocky Hill, CT (Chair) Tommy Boshers, Nashville Metropolitan Transit Authority, Nashville, TN James M. Dougherty, Charlotte Area Transit System, Charlotte, NC Delvis Freeman, Doron Precision Systems, Inc., Salem, OR Thomas F. Fugger, Jr., Accident Research and Biomechanics, Inc., Valencia, CA Dennis Grignon, Amalgamated Transit Union, Washington, DC Mary P. Meletiou, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC Allen E. Morgan, Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District, Portland, OR Timothy William Newby, Dallas Area Rapid Transit, Dallas, TX Timothy S. Rhoades, Utah Transit Authority, Salt Lake City, UT Frank Tramontozzi, Massachusetts Highway Department, Boston, MA Gabriel Rousseau, FHWA Liaison Charlene Wilder, FTA Liaison Richard Pain, TRB Liaison C O O P E R A T I V E R E S E A R C H P R O G R A M S

AUTHOR ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The preparation of this Guidebook was conducted under Transit Cooperative Research Program Proj- ect A-28, “Guidebook for Mitigating Fixed-Route Bus-and-Pedestrian Collisions,” by Science Applica- tions International Corporation (SAIC), with assistance from PB Americas, Inc., and the KFH Group. Kel- ley Klaver Pecheux, Ph.D., was the Principal Investigator. The other authors of the report are Jennifer Rephlo; Jocelyn Bauer; Sheryl Miller, Ph.D.; Harry Saporta, Sue Knapp, Samantha Erickson, and Jason Quan. The authors gratefully acknowledge the time and advice contributed by the TCRP Panel during the research process and Guidebook development. The development of this Guidebook could not have been possible without the support of numerous individuals who gave generously of their time and resources to provide guidance, information, and per- sonal insight. The research team is appreciative to the dozens of bus operators and pedestrians who participated in the research process. In addition, the research team acknowledges the generosity of representatives of the following transit agencies and other organizations who provided data and/or par- ticipated in focus groups, workshops, and interviews: • Amalgamated Transit Union • American Public Transportation Association • Arlington County Department of Environmental Services • Calgary Transit • California Transit Insurance Pool • Charlotte Area Transit System • Chicago Transit Authority • Cincinnati Metro • City of Albuquerque • City of Madison Metro Transit • City of San Francisco • City of Tuscon Sun Tran • Cleveland Regional Transit Authority • Coast Mountain Bus Company • Community Transit • Culver City Transit • Denver Regional Transit District • District of Columbia Department of Transportation • Fairfax County Department of Transportation • Feet First • Foothill Transit • Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority • Greater Lafayette Public Transit Corporation • Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority • Island Transit • King County Metro • LA Walks • Laidlaw Transit • Lakeland Area Mass Transit District • Los Angeles County Department of Public Works • Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority • Los Angeles Department of Transportation • Maryland Transit Administration • Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority • Metropolitan Atlanta Regional Transit Authority

• Miami-Dade Transit • Minneapolis Metro Transit • Montgomery County Department of Public Works and Transportation • MV Transportation, Inc. • New Jersey Transit • Pace Suburban Bus Service • Perils for Pedestrians • Pierce Transit • Port Authority of Allegheny County • Roaring Fork Transportation Authority • Sacramento Regional Transit District • San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency • Sheboygan Transit • Societé de Transport de Montreal • South Bend Public Transit • Southern California Transit Advocates • Toronto Transit Commission • Transit Mutual Insurance Corporation of Wisconsin • Transit Section of the National Safety Council • Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon • Valley Metro • Virginia Transit Liability Pool • Walk Albuquerque • Walk San Francisco • Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority and • Washington State Department of Transportation.

TCRP Report 125: Guidebook for Mitigating Fixed-Route Bus-and-Pedestrian Collisions will be of interest to public transportation systems that provide fixed-route bus services (Guide- book) and their communities. This Guidebook will assist small, medium, and large transit agencies and their community members in better understanding bus-and-pedestrian colli- sions and in determining preventative or remedial strategies for reducing the frequency and severity of these types of collisions. The research involved obtaining information, data, and relevant input from a sample of small, medium, and large transit systems that are geographically diverse, as well as from a large array of stakeholders—including 22 pedestrians, 26 bus operators, and 60 agencies and organizations concerned with transit and pedestrian safety. The Guidebook is divided into four parts. • Part I of the Guidebook discusses how to mitigate the four most common collision types and circumstances. • Part II presents a variety of strategies, including operator training and outreach, safety checks, defensive driving techniques and policies, public outreach and education, traffic engineering and roadway design, bus mirror configuration and placement, bus design/ modification, bus stop location planning and bus stop design, and bus stop lighting and illumination. Detailed information for over 80 applications of the strategies is presented, as well as information on many more suggested applications of the strategies. • Part III contains 14 case studies, which provide in-depth examples for the best docu- mented applications. The case studies include detailed information about what is known about the bus-and-pedestrian collision problem, the implementation of one or more mitigating strategies, the goals and costs of implementation, and the successful and problematic elements of strategy implementation. • Finally, Part IV presents a discussion of important considerations for improving pedes- trian safety around transit buses. This section includes a description of contributing factors that are not necessarily directly linked to one of the four primary types of bus- and-pedestrian collisions described in the Guidebook, but that were identified by tran- sit agencies and other stakeholders as playing an important role in the occurrence of these collisions. This section also discusses how to approach strategy implementation and specifically how to combine two or more strategies to add to the potential for suc- cess in reducing bus-and-pedestrian collisions and improving overall safety. The Guidebook provides transit agencies and stakeholders with an array of strategies from which to choose for mitigating the frequency and severity of bus-and-pedestrian collisions, as well as approaches for doing so. F O R E W O R D By Dianne S. Schwager Staff Officer Transportation Research Board

1 Summary 3 Introduction 3 Guidebook Development 4 Guidebook Organization 5 Important Note Regarding the Strategies and Applications Presented in This Guidebook 6 Part 1 How to Mitigate the Most Common Collision Types and Circumstances 7 1.1 Collision Type 1: Bus Turning Right 10 1.2 Collision Type 2: Bus Turning Left 12 1.3 Collision Type 3: Bus Pulling into Bus Stops 15 1.4 Collision Type 4: Bus Pulling Away from Bus Stops 18 Part 2 Applications of Strategies for Mitigating Bus-and-Pedestrian Collisions 18 2.1 Strategy 1: Operator Training 21 2.2 Strategy 2: Operator Outreach 21 2.3 Strategy 3: Safety Checks 23 2.4 Strategy 4: Defensive-Driving Techniques and Policies 24 2.5 Strategy 5: Public Outreach and Education 26 2.6 Strategy 6: Traffic Engineering and Roadway Design 34 2.7 Strategy 7: Bus Mirror Configuration and Placement 34 2.8 Strategy 8: Bus Design/Modification 37 2.9 Strategy 9: Bus Stop Location Planning and Bus Stop Design 42 2.10 Strategy 10: Bus Stop Lighting and Illumination 43 2.11 Strategy 11: Other 47 Part 3 Case Studies 47 3.1 Single-Agency Case Studies 54 3.2 Multi-Agency Case Studies 58 Part 4 Important Considerations for Improving Pedestrian Safety Around Transit Buses 58 4.1 General Factors that Contribute to Bus-and-Pedestrian Collisions 62 4.2 Combining Strategies for Added Potential for Success 65 References C O N T E N T S