Public transit, ridehailing, and airport employees are risking their health during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. Even before the pandemic, transportation operators experienced more health and safety problems than the general workforce, primarily as a result of a combination of physical demands, environmental factors, and stresses related to their jobs.
Decision-makers in the industry have a number of resources they can rely upon to help their essential employees at a number of levels. TRB offers evidence-based guidance to help, even considering today’s tight budgets.
A bounty of benefits
Chronic medical conditions mean higher medical expenses. Directing resources towards alleviating and preventing the most common transit worker health problems would be expected to result in cost savings as well as invaluable improvements in health and quality of life. The TRB Transit Cooperative Research Program's (TCRP)
Improving the Health and Safety of Transit Workers with Corresponding Impacts on the Bottom Line focuses on the prevalence of these conditions, costs associated with these conditions, and statistical analysis of data on participation in and the results of health and wellness promotion programs.
Reducing health care costs, improved productivity, decreased absenteeism, improved employee recruitment, retention, camaraderie, and teamwork are all benefits of improving well-being that are attractive to airport managers. The TRB Airport Cooperative Research Program’s (ACRP) synthesis of
Airport Workforce Programs Supporting Employee Well-Being highlights the many benefits to employers. By participating in well-being programs, employees personally benefit from improved health, increased job satisfaction, and other emotional benefits.
TRB’s
Developing Best-Practice Guidelines for Improving Bus Operator Health and Retention highlights common and innovative practices in transit workplace health protection and promotion. Forthcoming research will aid
bus operator workforce management in the development of a comprehensive, evidence-based guide from pre-employment through retirement.
Tackling specific issues
Similar health issues and chronic conditions affect transportation operators regardless of whether they’re driving a big rig, a city bus, a boat, a plane, or anything else.
Looking at the big picture and coordinating industry-wide action is key to wide-spread health improvements. TCRP focuses on design with
Bus Operator Workstation Design for Improving Occupational Health and Safety and suggests enhancing the procurement process for buses to include more stakeholders and monitoring throughout the request, selection, and building processes.
Commercial motor vehicle drivers (CMV) work and live with occupational pressures that adversely affect health. These problems are often complicated with fatigue. Insufficient sleep can decrease a CMV driver’s level of alertness, which may increase the risk of a crash, yet little is known about effective ways to minimize that risk, according to TRB’s
Commercial Motor Vehicle Driver Fatigue, Long-Term Health, and Highway Safety: Research Needs. Research on the connection between hours of service, fatigue, and accident frequency for CMV operators is complicated by the difficulty of measuring driver fatigue objectively, the invasive nature of capturing measures of the amount and quality of drivers’ sleep, and many factors contributing to crashes that are unrelated to lack of sleep.
Best practices in improving operators’ sleep and reducing fatigue are detailed in the TRB National Cooperative Freight Research Program’s
Enhancing Sleep Efficiency on Vessels in the Tug/Towboat/Barge Industry. The report provides metrics and evaluations of current operational interventions and strategies at us in the U.S. inland waterway industry, including anchor-sleep/nap-sleep strategies.
One of the ways to tackle chronic health issues may lie behind closed doors. Around the United States and Canada, both transit agencies and the unions representing operators have recognized the serious impact of limited restroom access and begun to negotiate ways to address this problem. TCRP’s
Improving the Safety, Health, and Productivity of Transit Operators Through Adequate Restroom Access presents a catalog of good practices, tools, and resources that provide a foundation for implementable strategies to improve restroom access, primarily for transit vehicle operators.
In 2010, TRB convened a
conference on the health and wellness of commercial truck and bus drivers as an opportunity to explore related medical issues, behavioral issues, union perspectives, and technology issues.
Driving forward in a pandemic
Essential public transportation employees are at increased risk during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially in localities or situations where passengers are in close proximity and may not wear masks.
Some agencies have taken steps to protect bus drivers in their workspace by eliminating fares and requiring passengers to board and sit at the back of buses. Some are providing plastic barriers around drivers.
Patricia Bye, a security consultant and TRB volunteer notes that by protecting drivers with barriers so they can maintain a healthy distance from passengers, operators would also be protected from assault. The expense and time required to construct barrier systems is noted in
Tools and Strategies for Eliminating Assaults Against Transit Operators, Volume 2: User Guide.
“Solving a problem such as the need for physical distancing can help solve other existing issues. Looking at the bigger picture can help justify some of the costs as they are spread by tackling multiple areas,” she comments.
Employees who contract COVID-19 on the job will be faced with returning to work, which may raise their anxiety and stress levels. Research from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine finds that evidence is sufficient to conclude the
efficacy of exposure therapies in the treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
Further research on the topic notes that diagnosis and assessment requires both adequate time and willingness and capacity to work with a health professional. Even those who do not meet the full criteria of PTSD could still be highly symptomatic and in need of treatment.
Reporting issues
The importance of safety cannot be overstated and requires continued shifts in the approach to safety management within the public transportation industry. To make the right changes, agencies need to hear from staff on the ground. TCRP’s pre-publication report
Characteristics and Elements of Non-Punitive Employee Safety Reporting Systems for Public Transportation compiles the best practices used in non-punitive employee safety reporting systems at transit agencies. The research included a literature review and stakeholder interviews that were the basis for case studies on 19 public transit agencies that have implemented employee safety reporting systems. The recording of a
TRB webinar on the report is freely available.
Take the next step in improving workforce conditions
TRB’s Annual Meeting in January 2021 offered lectern sessions that can help with workforce conditions. Full meeting registrants can watch recordings of the events through March 18.
The
COVID-19 Pandemic Effects on Maintenance and Operations lectern session focused on how the field has adapted to continue providing service. Recent workforce shortages due to the COVID-19 pandemic and calls to defund the police have highlighted the vulnerability of responder agencies. Another lectern session
Diminished, Diseased, and Defunded: Critical Issues in the Emergency Responder Workforce allowed panelists from police, fire, EMT, and towing services to discuss their perspective on workforce issues from recruitment and retention to safety and mental health.
As workforces turn to more remote settings, employees may need help in getting the resources they need.
Library and Knowledge Management Practices That Help Employees Find What They Need, Wherever they Are can help set your workplace up for success.
You can become a friend of
TRB’s Standing Technical Committee on Workforce Development and Organizational Excellence anytime to expand your network and to volunteer to organize conferences, review papers, or participate in other committee activities.
Increase your expertise at TRB’s
National Conference on Rural Public and Intercity Bus Transportation in October. The conference will focus on a number of issues, including planning, design, and research; policy, funding, and finance; special topics on rural mobility; rural and tribal transportation; and better mobility through technology.
You can also get involved with future Cooperative Research Program work. Look for
ongoing information on calls for panel nominations, new projects, requests for proposals, and problem statement research ideas. Keep up with the latest news by subscribing to
TRB’s weekly newsletter.
TRB resources cited in this article
TRB events:
Sessions at TRB’s Annual Meeting:
TRB Committees:
CRP ongoing projects:
National Academies resources cited in this article:
Additional TRB resources:
Contact:
Beth Ewoldsen, Content Strategist
Transportation Research Board
202-334-2353;
bewoldsen@nas.edu
Published February 22, 2021
This Summary Last Modified On: 2/26/2021