National Academies Press: OpenBook

Practices to Protect Bus Operators from Passenger Assault (2011)

Chapter: Chapter Seven - Conclusions

« Previous: Chapter Six - Operator Protection Measures: Agency Policies and Legislation
Page 70
Suggested Citation:"Chapter Seven - Conclusions." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2011. Practices to Protect Bus Operators from Passenger Assault. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/14609.
×
Page 70
Page 71
Suggested Citation:"Chapter Seven - Conclusions." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2011. Practices to Protect Bus Operators from Passenger Assault. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/14609.
×
Page 71
Page 72
Suggested Citation:"Chapter Seven - Conclusions." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2011. Practices to Protect Bus Operators from Passenger Assault. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/14609.
×
Page 72

Below is the uncorrected machine-read text of this chapter, intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text of each book. Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.

Passenger assault of bus operators continues to be a signifi- cant concern of transit managers, bus operators, and their unions. One of the survey respondents observed that it “mir- rors a larger problem of ‘incivility’ in society and disrespect for authority.” Although deaths and serious injury of bus operators resulting from these assaults are rare, when they do happen they send shock waves throughout the transit community and the riding public, and make media headlines. Because aggravated assaults that result in serious physical injuries can be preceded by minor ones, all incidents need to be reported, monitored, and taken seriously. Assaults on bus operators have affected bus operations in terms of increased injury-related claims and operator anxiety, stress, and reduced productivity. Therefore, transit agencies have been working with their Transit Police, security personnel, and local law enforcement to implement effective security measures to address violence against their employees. SUMMARY OF FINDINGS Agencies are using a range of methods and combinations of measures to protect their bus operators from passenger assault. In the measure selection process, they consider sev- eral key factors including effectiveness and cost, feasibility, versatility, liability issues, and operator and passenger per- spectives. Another key factor includes the types of assaults the agency has been experiencing, because certain measures are more appropriate for some assaults than for others. For example, some assaults are completely unprovoked and can occur out of the blue to even stellar operators. For these assault types, barriers, self-defense training, and self-defense tools may be more effective than other methods. For assaults preceded by a fare or other dispute, operator training or pol- icy changes may be considered. Audio surveillance can be useful for addressing verbal attacks, and if school-related violence is a problem, expanded school outreach initiatives may be considered. Survey Findings The synthesis survey was distributed to 88 multimodal and bus-only agencies in the United States, Canada, and China. A 75% response rate was achieved. Survey findings indicated, in general, that the most effec- tive measures are considered to be video surveillance, oper- 70 ator training, and officer presence and patrols. The most problematic assault type was verbal threats, intimidations, or harassment. The next most problematic was being spat upon. Primary factors contributing to operator assaults were fare enforcement and intoxicated passengers or drug users, fol- lowed by rule enforcement other than fare enforcement, school/youth-related violence, and individuals with mental illness. The time period when the assaults against operators typically occur were reported to be evening/late night/early morning, followed by the afternoon peak period and school dismissal times. Almost all responding agencies indicated having a stan- dard operating procedure in place for response to operator assaults. About half stated that their local laws provided more severe punishments for those who assault bus opera- tors. Fare enforcement and other rules enforcement policies ranged from zero tolerance to lenient. Operators were typi- cally expected to be stricter with those rules that were also illegal according to state or local laws. All responding agencies indicated that they provided customer relations training and the majority provided con- flict mitigation and diversity training. A third of the respon- dents provided self-defense training. Onboard technologies to protect operators included radio or phone communica- tions, silent alarm or panic button, panic button connected with a headsign, video surveillance, audio surveillance, and automatic vehicle location (AVL) systems. A few agencies reported having real-time video streaming capability. Sev- eral reported using or testing operator barriers (partial enclo- sures); none reported using or testing full enclosures or compartments. Although not a specific security measure, the importance of customer service in assault prevention was mentioned by survey respondents. It stands to reason that excellence in cus- tomer service would generate highly satisfied customers who would be less likely to assault their bus operators. Profile Findings The profile studies highlighted many different measures. These measures were grouped into the following categories— technology and information management; personnel, policing, and training; and agency policy and legislation. CHAPTER SEVEN CONCLUSIONS

71 Onboard technologies—Video surveillance is considered to be a versatile and very effective solution for operator assault. Newer systems offer improved video quality, allow wireless uploads, and are easier to integrate with other technologies. Audio surveillance is useful in addressing verbal attacks and has been implemented by some agencies, along with video surveillance. Although agencies post signage regarding surveillance, some pas- sengers may not be aware of it. A few agencies noted that their operators have successfully defused poten- tially violent situations by reminding passengers that they are being recorded. AVLs have been effective in improving incident response times. Transit Operations Decision Support System is an innovative technology that supports the dispatch function by managing and pri- oritizing the many pieces of data produced by AVL and computer-aided dispatch systems. DNA kits—DNA kits are used in London to help identify and prosecute offenders who spit upon London bus and train operators; further research would be needed to determine feasibility in terms of public acceptance and cost of these kits in the United States. Information management—With regard to information management, Edmonton Transit System in Canada is using a model incorporating hot spots and annual crime trends to forecast crime. The model is part of a broader information management strategy and is used in con- junction with an adapted CompStat process, computer- aided dispatch system, records management and security portal, trespasser tracker, and scheduling software. Barriers—One of the two early adopters of this security measure reported that barriers installed in its bus fleet have been very effective in preventing operator assault, even though the barrier provides only partial protec- tion, and that it was the most effective bus operator pro- tection method that had been implemented. Several agencies have recently installed or are testing barriers. These agencies have noted concerns about customer service, operator comfort issues, glare and reflection, and noise. Self-defense tools and training—Self-defense tools and training are immediately available to the operator during an attack. Self-defense-from-a-seated-position train- ing is provided by Pierce Transit, Calgary Transit, and other agencies. One of the tenets of this training is that the seated position is the safest position from which to defend oneself. Houston METRO is the only U.S. agency, as of the date of this report, that issues a self- defense tool to its operators who request it and undergo the required training. One agency, Metro Transit in Minnesota, offers pepper spray training to operators who request it and reports that their operators have used pepper spray to effectively defend themselves against assault. Both agencies operate in “shall-issue” states for concealed firearms—the granting authorities have no discretion over permit applications, and must auto- matically issue permits to their residents if minimum criteria are met. Operator training—Agencies report that a number of incidents may have been prevented through a change in the operator’s actions, words, or demeanor. There- fore, customer service, conflict mitigation, and diver- sity training are believed to be very effective measures against assault. Policing—Uniformed officers are considered to be a very effective measure against operator assault. Some agencies also use plainclothes officers to apprehend assailants, fare evaders, and rules violators. Agency policies and legislation—Almost half of U.S. states have enhanced penalties for operator assault. Cur- rently, no Canadian province has such legislation. Because fare payment policies cause disputes between operators and passengers, adjustments to these policies can mitigate assaults against operators. Off-board fare payment eliminates interaction between operators and passengers with regard to fare payment. School and community outreach—School and community outreach is a longer-term method to prevent operator assault. Outreach programs familiarize students and the community with the public transportation system and its workers. Although most school outreach programs target preteens or teenagers, a few have programs for very young children. Community outreach involves the transit agency becoming an integral part of community activities. These efforts enhance the agencies’ public image, lessening the likelihood of assault against their operators. FURTHER RESEARCH The following topics were identified during the Synthesis study as requiring further research: Barriers—With the exception of a few agencies, barriers are new to transit agencies in the United States and Canada. Concerns about glare and reflection, operator discomfort and claustrophobia, and customer service difficulties have come to light. Further research into barrier design can address these issues. Behavioral assessments—A few agencies have indicated that they are providing behavioral assessment training to their bus operators to identify suspicious behavior and activity. Because questions about the effective- ness of this technique in aviation security have been raised, more research may be indicated to determine the effectiveness of behavioral assessment in the iden- tification of criminals and prevention of crime within transit systems. DNA kits—To determine the feasibility of this measure in terms of public acceptance and cost and other factors, further research is required.

Operator perspective—More research on the perceptions of security measures and policies from the operator perspective would assist agencies in developing mea- sures and policies amenable to the operator. Self-defense tools—Effectiveness of self-defense tools against assailants, safety of the tools for the operator and passengers, and safety for the assailant in the bus environment are major concerns of agencies. More research into less-than-lethal tools appropriate for bus operators would help agencies. Video content analysis—Researchers are developing behavioral recognition algorithms that are being tested 72 and used in subway and rail settings. With further research and development of these algorithms, violent behavior may be automatically identified and even predicted, and immediate alerts may be sent to dis- patch or law enforcement. Workplace violence data—The National Transit Data- base does not accommodate the reporting of minor assaults that do not result in an arrest. Research into an expanded database can help agencies capture the true extent of workplace violence and understand the details of violent incidents and identify emerging trends.

Next: Acronyms and Abbreviations »
Practices to Protect Bus Operators from Passenger Assault Get This Book
×
MyNAP members save 10% online.
Login or Register to save!
Download Free PDF

TRB’s Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) Synthesis 93: Practices to Protect Bus Operators from Passenger Assault highlights practices and policies implemented by transit agencies to deter and mitigate assaults on bus operators.

  1. ×

    Welcome to OpenBook!

    You're looking at OpenBook, NAP.edu's online reading room since 1999. Based on feedback from you, our users, we've made some improvements that make it easier than ever to read thousands of publications on our website.

    Do you want to take a quick tour of the OpenBook's features?

    No Thanks Take a Tour »
  2. ×

    Show this book's table of contents, where you can jump to any chapter by name.

    « Back Next »
  3. ×

    ...or use these buttons to go back to the previous chapter or skip to the next one.

    « Back Next »
  4. ×

    Jump up to the previous page or down to the next one. Also, you can type in a page number and press Enter to go directly to that page in the book.

    « Back Next »
  5. ×

    To search the entire text of this book, type in your search term here and press Enter.

    « Back Next »
  6. ×

    Share a link to this book page on your preferred social network or via email.

    « Back Next »
  7. ×

    View our suggested citation for this chapter.

    « Back Next »
  8. ×

    Ready to take your reading offline? Click here to buy this book in print or download it as a free PDF, if available.

    « Back Next »
Stay Connected!