Cops, Cameras, and Enclosures: A Synthesis of the Effectiveness of Methods to Provide Enhanced Security for Bus Operators

Abstract

The safety of operators and passengers is a primary concern of transit systems and has become an increasingly important issue to transit bus operators themselves. Many transit agencies have experienced incidents of assaults against their bus operators that have resulted in serious injuries or deaths. These incidents can also expose passengers to assault and injury. Even when there are less serious consequences, assaults on operators can lower their morale, increase absenteeism, and strain labor-management relations over whether or not the agencies are doing enough to protect their employees. There is also substantial cost to transit agencies in terms of lost availability of operators who rightfully go on workers' compensation status. A number of transit agencies use different techniques to minimize the possibilities of assaults against their bus operators and passengers. Many use either uniformed or plainclothes police officers or security guards on particularly troubling routes. Digital cameras strategically placed inside buses are also being used to help discourage criminal assaults as well as other unwanted behavior such as graffiti and unwarranted claims of injuries from passengers (or alleged passengers). Perhaps the most visible effort to discourage assaults on operators is the provision of bus operator enclosures that separate the operators from anyone else on the bus and protect them from attacks. However, while this method can provide enhanced protection to bus operators, it might negatively affect passenger relations and increase the image of a bus as a place where crime might be committed. This project surveyed transit agencies that have employed these techniques to determine their level of success, cost effectiveness, and acceptance by both bus operators and passengers. The project also identifies other techniques transit systems are using to increase the chances of their bus operators avoiding dangerous situations, such as passenger relations training to avoid conflict. The effect "full wrap advertising" has on onboard activity and safety of passengers is also explored. This project is presented in synthesis form.