Research
Transit safety-related research and research that has relevance to public transit safety can be accessed from this site. This website tracks research in progress, completed research, and other reports for the following modes and from associated sources:
- Transit bus and demand response
- Research disseminated from the Federal Transit Administration
- Transit rail, including light rail, heavy rail, and commuter rail
- National Transportation Safety Board reports for events relevant to public transit safety
- Over-the-road coaches
- Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and Federal Railroad Administration research relevant to public transit
In addition, if there is a specific safety-related issue you’d like to research more in-depth, try the Transportation Research Board’s (TRB), Transport Research International Document (TRID) search tool. This resource provides access to the largest online database of transportation research consisting of more than one million records.
Safety Research by Category
Bus Transit
- Current Practices in the Use of Onboard Technologies to Avoid Transit Bus Incidents and Accidents (TCRP Synthesis of Transit Practice) January 21, 2021
- Characteristics and Elements of Non-Punitive Employee Safety Reporting Systems for Public Transportation (TCRP Research Report) January 21, 2021
- FTA Annual Report on Public Transportation Innovation Research Projects for Fiscal Year 2020 (Report 0181) January 21, 2021
- FTA Standards Development Program: Crashworthiness/Crash Energy Management Follow-up for Less than 30 Ft Bus (Report 0141) January 21, 2021
- FTA Standards Development Program: Crashworthiness/Crash Energy Management for Transit Bus (Report 0179) January 21, 2021
- FTA Publishes New COVID-19 Recovery Practices in Transit Resource January 21, 2021
- FTA Standards Development Program: Crashworthiness/Crash Energy Management for Transit Bus (Report 0179) January 8, 2021
- Effective Practices in Bus Transit Safety Emergency Response August 31, 2018
- POSITIVE TRAIN CONTROL Many Commuter Railroads Still Have Significant Additional Implementation Work and Opportunities Exist to Provide Federal Assistance March 1, 2018
- Substance Abuse Model Policy Templates and Instructions for Adopting Policy February 6, 2018
Collisions
- Current Practices in the Use of Onboard Technologies to Avoid Transit Bus Incidents and Accidents (TCRP Synthesis of Transit Practice) January 21, 2021
- FTA Standards Development Program: Crashworthiness/Crash Energy Management Follow-up for Less than 30 Ft Bus (Report 0141) January 21, 2021
- FTA Standards Development Program: Crashworthiness/Crash Energy Management for Transit Bus (Report 0179) January 21, 2021
- Strategies to Prevent, Reduce and Mitigate Bus Collisions April 6, 2016
- TCRP Web-Only Document 63: Treatments Used at Pedestrian Crossings of Public Transit Rail Services November 5, 2014
- TCRP, IDEA Safety Project 20: Material with Improved Absorption of Collision Forces for Railroad Cars November 1, 2014
- Actions Preceding Collisions Involving Transit Motorbuses and Applicability of Connected Vehicle Solutions June 24, 2014
- Transit Retrofit Safety Package – Leveraging DSRC for Transit Safety January 31, 2014
- IDEA Transit Project 68: Light Rail Transit / Street Grade Crossing Safety System January 30, 2014
- Safety Implications of Transit Operator Schedule Policies – Phase II January 13, 2014
Distracted Mobility
- Effect of Electronic Device Use On Pedestrian Safety: A Literature Review May 9, 2016
- Bus Operator Safety – Critical Issues Examination and Model Practices Final Report January 27, 2014
- TCRP Synthesis 108: Transit Bus Operator Distraction Policies October 11, 2013
- Multivariate Statistical Analysis of Public Transit Bus Driver Distraction October 30, 2012
- Curbing Transit Employee Distracted Driving November 21, 2011
Incident and Emergency Management
- TCRP Synthesis J-07/Topic SA-39 [Active (Synthesis)]: Managing Extreme Weather at Bus Stops May 25, 2017
- TCRP C-23 [RFP]: Assessing and Mitigating Electrical Fires on Transit Vehicles May 8, 2017
- The Challenge of Protecting Transit and Passenger Rail: Understanding How Security Works Against Terrorism March 17, 2017
- TCRP Synthesis J-07/Topic SA-40 [Active (Synthesis)]: Planning and Design for Fire/Smoke Incidents in Underground Passenger Rail Systems February 19, 2017
- TRB Journal No. 2539: Public Transportation: Volume 1, Urban and Rural Bus Service December 1, 2016
- NCHRP 20-07/Task 378 [Active], Assessing Risk for Bridge Management September 30, 2016
- Remedial Actions to Prevent Suicides on Commuter and Metro Rail Systems May 9, 2016
- NCHRP Research Report 833: Assessing, Coding, and Marking of Highway Structures in Emergency Situations, Volume 2: Assessment Process Manual March 11, 2016
- NCHRP Research Report 833: Assessing, Coding, and Marking of Highway Structures in Emergency Situations, Volume 1: Research Overview March 11, 2016
- NCHRP Research Report 833: Assessing, Coding, and Marking of Highway Structures in Emergency Situations, Volume 3: Coding and Marking Guidelines March 11, 2016
Operator Fatigue
- Fatigue Evaluation of the Increased Weight Limit on Transit Railway Bridges October 6, 2014
- Impaired Vigilance and Increased Accident Rate in Public Transport Operators in Associated with Sleep Disorders March 31, 2013
- Research on Fatigue in Transit Operations October 13, 2011
- TRB’s Conference Proceedings on the Web 7: Research on Fatigue in Transit Operations October 12, 2011
- Safety Implications of Transit Operator Schedule Policies – Phase I October 31, 2010
- TCRP Report 81: Toolbox for Transit Operator Fatigue February 2, 2000
Professional Development and Training
- TCRP Report 194: Pre-publication Draft: Knowledge Management Resource to Support Strategic Workforce Development for Transit Agencies January 24, 2018
- TCRP Synthesis 126: Successful Practices and Training Initiatives to Reduce Accidents and Incidents at Transit Agencies August 24, 2017
- TCRP Project: Successful Practices and Training Initiatives to Reduce Bus Accidents and Incidents at Transit Agencies February 9, 2017
- NCHRP Web-Only Document 215: Incident Command System (ICS) Training for Field-Level Transportation Supervisors and Staff December 31, 2015
- NCHRP 20-59 (30): Incident Command System (ICS) Training for Field Level Transportation Supervisors and Staff December 1, 2015
- TCRP Report 170: Establishing a National Transit Industry Rail Vehicle Technician Qualification Program— Building for Success March 1, 2014
- A Qualitative Analysis of Bus Simulator Training on Transit Incidents – A Case Study in Florida July 15, 2013
- TCRP A-36: Command-Level Decision Making for Transportation Emergency Managers March 1, 2013
- NCHRP Report 715: Highway Safety Manual Training Materials December 30, 2011
- Assessment of Surface Transportation Security Training Needs and Delivery Preferences December 28, 2011
Rail Transit
- Current Practices in the Use of Onboard Technologies to Avoid Transit Bus Incidents and Accidents (TCRP Synthesis of Transit Practice) January 21, 2021
- Characteristics and Elements of Non-Punitive Employee Safety Reporting Systems for Public Transportation (TCRP Research Report) January 21, 2021
- FTA Annual Report on Public Transportation Innovation Research Projects for Fiscal Year 2020 (Report 0181) January 21, 2021
- FTA Standards Development Program: Crashworthiness/Crash Energy Management Follow-up for Less than 30 Ft Bus (Report 0141) January 21, 2021
- FTA Standards Development Program: Crashworthiness/Crash Energy Management for Transit Bus (Report 0179) January 21, 2021
- FTA Publishes New COVID-19 Recovery Practices in Transit Resource January 21, 2021
- FTA Standards Development Program: Crashworthiness/Crash Energy Management for Transit Bus (Report 0179) January 8, 2021
- Effective Practices in Bus Transit Safety Emergency Response August 31, 2018
- POSITIVE TRAIN CONTROL Many Commuter Railroads Still Have Significant Additional Implementation Work and Opportunities Exist to Provide Federal Assistance March 1, 2018
- Substance Abuse Model Policy Templates and Instructions for Adopting Policy February 6, 2018
Safety and Security
- Current Practices in the Use of Onboard Technologies to Avoid Transit Bus Incidents and Accidents (TCRP Synthesis of Transit Practice) January 21, 2021
- Characteristics and Elements of Non-Punitive Employee Safety Reporting Systems for Public Transportation (TCRP Research Report) January 21, 2021
- FTA Annual Report on Public Transportation Innovation Research Projects for Fiscal Year 2020 (Report 0181) January 21, 2021
- FTA Standards Development Program: Crashworthiness/Crash Energy Management Follow-up for Less than 30 Ft Bus (Report 0141) January 21, 2021
- FTA Standards Development Program: Crashworthiness/Crash Energy Management for Transit Bus (Report 0179) January 21, 2021
- FTA Standards Development Program: Crashworthiness/Crash Energy Management for Transit Bus (Report 0179) January 8, 2021
- TCRP Report 195: Pre-publication Draft: Broadening Understanding of the Interplay Between Public Transit, Shared Mobility, and Personal Automobiles January 1, 2018
- Synthesis of Information Related to Transit Practices: 2018 December 31, 2017
- Improving the Resilience of Transit Systems Threatened by Natural Disasters December 18, 2017
- TCRP Report 194: Pre-publication Draft: Knowledge Management Resource to Support Strategic Workforce Development for Transit Agencies December 8, 2017
Vehicle, Station and Corridor Technologies
- Transit IDEA Program: Improving Bus Transit On-Time Performance through the Use of AVL Data February 3, 2015
- Actions Preceding Collisions Involving Transit Motorbuses and Applicability of Connected Vehicle Solutions June 24, 2014
- Reconsidering the Effects of Blue-light Installation for Prevention of Railway Suicides June 24, 2014
- Investigating Road Safety Impacts of Bus Priority Using Experimental Micro-Simulation Modeling March 26, 2014
- Transit IDEA Project 68: Light Rail Transit / Street Grade Crossing Safety System January 31, 2014
- Transit Retrofit Safety Package – Leveraging DSRC for Transit Safety January 31, 2014
- Automatic Track Inspection Using 3D Laser Profilers to Improve Rail Transit Asset Condition Assessment and State of Good Repair – A Preliminary Study November 15, 2013
- FTA Report No. 0049: Automated Track Video Inspection Pilot Project September 30, 2013
- Evaluation of the Power Line Motor Carrier Rearview Video System June 1, 2009
- Enhancing Transit Safety and Security with Wireless Detection and Communication Technologies November 11, 2008
Other
- Understanding and Modeling Bus Transit Driver Availability August 6, 2014
Recent Posts
- 21 Jan 2021Current Practices in the Use of Onboard Technologies to Avoid Transit Bus Incidents and Accidents (TCRP Synthesis of Transit Practice)
- 21 Jan 2021Characteristics and Elements of Non-Punitive Employee Safety Reporting Systems for Public Transportation (TCRP Research Report)
- 21 Jan 2021FTA Annual Report on Public Transportation Innovation Research Projects for Fiscal Year 2020 (Report 0181)
- 21 Jan 2021FTA Standards Development Program: Crashworthiness/Crash Energy Management Follow-up for Less than 30 Ft Bus (Report 0141)
- 21 Jan 2021FTA Standards Development Program: Crashworthiness/Crash Energy Management for Transit Bus (Report 0179)