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30 sions and increased discussion and awareness of safety Go Transit, Southern issues. Rewards are administered five times per year in con- Ontario, Canada junction with regular operational "markup" or "picks." This newly revised reward program replaced a program that had Agency Description previously been in effect and unchanged since 1992. GO Transit is a regional public transit system in southern Ontario, Canada. It primarily serves the greater Toronto and Summary Hamilton areas, providing more than 57 million passengers trips a year by means of 70 locomotives, 495 commuter rail Contributing factors to improved safety at GO Transit have cars, and 359 buses. GO Transit runs 180 train trips and been identified as good labor/management relations; continuity 2,075 bus trips daily, carrying 217,000 passengers on a typi- in the administration of discipline, including the active involve- cal weekday (180,000 on the trains and 37,000 by bus). A ment of the safety and training departments; supportive manag- unionized organization, GO Transit exists as a division of the ers; superior interdepartmental communications; a comfortable provincial crown agency Metrolinx. Metrolinx is governed organizational culture; good equipment; and the quality of pas- by a board of appointees of the province. senger behavior, most of whom are regular commuters. Organizational Approach to Safety King County Metro, GO Transit has both internal mission statements that extend to SEATTLE, Washington "charters" with passengers, as well as focused mission state- Agency Description ments that apply to individual business units within the orga- nization. Both are posted throughout the organization. Safety KC Metro Transit is located in Seattle, Washington, which is an essential component of all of the statements. A compre- borders the northern edge of Seattle. KC Metro serves greater hensive SSPP targets safety issues, defines roles, and assigns King County and downtown Seattle. The system is charac- responsibilities for safety. Input to the SSPP is gathered from terized as urban, suburban, and rural, providing fixed-route, all organizational work partners, and adherence is monitored paratransit, light rail/streetcar, and bus rapid transit to its through individual work units. Labor and management both 112,000,000 annual passengers. KC Metro is county-operated manage the safety program process through committee. and has a unionized shop, with the exception of executive administrators and "executive at will personnel" (see Table 5). Safety is a primary topic of new operator training, a sys- tematic three-year recurring training program and remedial training, and special training can be assigned after observed Organizational Approach to Safety safety breaches. KC Metro's safety program describes the policies, procedures, Recent changes in the organizational approach to safety and requirements to be followed by management, maintenance, appear to have contributed to a nearly 12% decrease in the and operating personnel to provide a safe environment for number of all types of collisions per million kilometers trav- agency employees (and volunteers) and the general public. All elled. With a stated goal of changing behaviors, GO Tran- personnel are expected and required to adhere to the policies, sit shared responsibility with supervisors, as administrators procedures, and requirements and to properly and diligently of discipline, to a system whereby the safety and training perform safety-related functions as a condition of employment. department was involved. This change is believed to have resulted in a level of continuity that did not exist before, pri- The agency has a sincere concern for the welfare and safety marily in the conveyance of expectations to operators. of its employees (and volunteers) as well as the public it serves. The goal of its safety program is to eliminate the suffering and costs of avoidable personal injury and vehicle accidents. Agency Disciplinary Practices All agency employees and volunteers are expected to promote accident prevention by actively supporting the safety program. Both the maintenance and transportation departments partici- pate in a progressive discipline program jointly administered As a provider of various public transportation services, by labor and management. Roles are spelled out in the collec- Metro's foremost concern is that safe operations precede all tive bargaining agreement. Progressive discipline steps include other performance criteria. All vehicles, machines, and activ- verbal warnings, written warnings, suspension, and termination. ities are operated or performed in a manner that reflects the highest regard for safety to the public, the employees, and the Agency Incentive/Rewards Program property of their citizens and organization. In the operation of fleet vehicles, every courtesy and consideration is given Also recently implemented were incentive-type safety pro- to other motorists, cyclists, and pedestrians with whom they gram elements that incorporated competition between divi- share the streets and highways.

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31 Table 5 KC Metro Transit Statistics 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 Miles Driven 46,347,313 47,683,415 48,017,143 48,755,920 48,398,159 Passengers 102,893,053 110,185,406 118,042,666 111,067,940 108,850,926 No. of Chargeable Accidents with 15 17 23 25 24 over $2,500 Damage Accidents per 4.62 4.31 3.65 3.25 3.04 100,000 Miles Vehicle Breakdowns/Miles 4,576 5,220 5,568 5,631 5,391 Between Events Number of Work- Related Injuries 447 386 415 431 381 Reported (lost time) KC Metro's philosophy emphasizes the "three S's"-- able events are evaluated using a point system. Prevent- safety, service, and security, with each department respon- able accidents are assessed as minor, major, or severe, with sible for administering and monitoring one or two of the points of 5, 7, and 25 assigned accordingly. Discipline is three S's. However, every department coordinates with the based on a matrix of points aggregated over a rolling four- safety department regardless of its primary function or pur- year calendar with 25 points in one year as the threshold pose. KC Metro's dedicated base safety officers are assigned for dismissal. to one of seven operating bases as well as LINK Light Rail (1.5 safety officers for light rail). Base supervisors work with All preventable accidents are eligible to be reviewed at the base chiefs to manage operators with general ratios of 100 to request of the operator (within five days of counseling) for a 125 operators per chief. "reread." If the original verdict stands, the employee can file an appeal with the Accident Review Board. The board is the final Base safety officers meet regularly to discuss safety-related step in the appeal process, unless there is a tie vote; tie votes issues and updates. They also address Washington Industry are submitted to the National Safety Council. KC Metro's dis- Safety and Health Administration reviews of occupational cipline process for preventable accidents is designed to be a injuries at each base, review green (incident) cards, and hold positive/progressive one that assumes skill levels need to be round-table discussions to address general issues. addressed and enhanced. In the event an operator experiences a second retraining (following a fourth minor accident in one Base safety officers also work cooperatively with neigh- year), he/she will receive a three-day suspension. Operators boring transit systems (Sound Transit, Snohomish County who drive 12 months without incident after their last prevent- and Pierce County) to form the Transit Integration Group. able accident will earn three points to reduce their accident The purpose of this group is to collectively explore how point accumulation; this continues each successive year until each separate entity can potentially improve operations- they achieve zero points. related safety. Other performance issues that are safety-related are treated KC Metro also incorporates the use of a Safety Awareness as two-, three-, and five-point infractions. Operators on proba- Team, an appointed group of transit operators who use a tool- tion have their performance and preventable accident record box of field trips, posters, and/or activities to promote safety on a single ledger, with a cap of 15 points for purposes of awareness with their peer group. Current budget issues have determining continued status. Once a new hire has completed limited the scope of KC Metro's team, but historically it had probation, these two elements are separated and are assessed one planning meeting and one general meeting each quarter, independently. depending on budget and safety-related issues. Agency Incentive/Rewards Program Agency Disciplinary Practices KC Metro has been utilizing the National Safety Council's All personnel driving KC Metro vehicles (revenue or non- reward/incentive program for more than 40 years. Transit oper- revenue) are subject to an accident review, and all prevent- ators receive a recognition award for each successful year of