Organisations: London Travelwatch & Loughborough University
Amount awarded
£36,500
Completed
2019
Uploaded to Knowledge Centre
5 August 2021
Overview
The aim of this study was to independently review and explore the causation of injuries to bus passengers on the London bus network.
The study identified a range of potential solutions, some of which were traditional and others less conventional. These were taken to a stakeholder workshop to identify priorities for implementing solutions to the problems identified.
It was evident from the study that problems and solutions are not confined to one area but require a systems approach to achieving a reduction in bus passenger injuries. This would involve passenger and driver behaviour change, vehicle design improvements, road infrastructure changes, legislative and policy updates and changes to the behaviour of other road users.
The extent of the problem
More than five billion bus passenger journeys were made in Great Britain in one year (2015-2016), and around half of all bus passengers in the UK are, in fact passengers of London buses. In 2015, 1,594 bus and coach occupant casualties were reported by the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS). However, some 6,096 incidents not requiring police intervention were also reported by London’s bus operators to Transport for London (TfL) in 2016, suggesting that there is a more of a problem of passenger injury than is suggested by the MPS figures.
Research approach
A multi-method approach was used to analyse quantitative and qualitative data, in order to derive a better understanding of the nature and circumstances of injuries and how they can be prevented and/or mitigated. Additionally, countermeasures were developed in consultation with designers, engineering, human factors and vehicle safety experts. These were then presented to stakeholders to determine priority solutions i.e. those that would have the most impact in terms of preventing bus occupant injuries, together with the feasibility of implementing them.
The first phase of the study quantitively analysed five years of the STATS19 police collision data and the TfL Incident Reporting Information System (IRIS) database containing bus operator reported passenger incident data. The initial analysis of the STATS19 data identified that bus accidents in the London area resulting in reported bus passenger injuries had increased in the five-year period, rising from a 31% share of the total STATS19 bus accidents in 2012, to 44% in 2016.
STATS19 data analysis allows identification of the passenger position in the bus in one of four categories and can also help to identify the bus movement at the time of the incident. The analysis identified that alighting and boarding mainly occurs when the vehicle is ‘waiting to go’, ‘parked’ or ‘moving off’.
Injuries sustained while seated, which on average represent 41% of the casualties, most often occurred when the vehicle is ‘going ahead’ or ‘slowing/stopping’. Standing injuries, which account for half of the total casualties, occurred most frequently when the vehicle was ‘slowing/stopping’, ‘going ahead’, or ‘moving off’.
The IRIS data was expected to produce a richer source of data for analysis, but in fact suffered from inconsistencies and/or inaccuracies. Most injuries were ‘minor’ which included descriptors such as cuts, abrasions or bruises.
The second phase of the study qualitatively analysed bus operator incident reports and CCTV footage of incidents, and utilised semi-structured interviews with passengers injured on buses. At the root cause of many of the injuries was the harsh movements of the bus during braking and acceleration which caused passengers to be ‘thrown’ around in the bus – resulting in falls or contact with harsh objects in the bus interior.
Identifying solutions
The final phase of the study involved identifying potential solutions to the problem of passenger injuries and presenting these to stakeholders to identify priorities and assess the feasibility of their implementation.
A total of 170 ideas were generated and then re-classified, which resulted in 51 solutions taken forward to a stakeholder workshop.
The researchers concluded that to make changes to passenger injury outcomes would require a shift-change in passenger and driver behaviour as well as a supportive environment to achieve such change.
Key recommendations included:
• Reduce harsh braking and acceleration incidents;
• Encourage the use of forward collision warning systems to assist drivers negotiating congested traffic;
• Enable passengers to sit down before the bus pulls away from bus stops;
• Using nudge techniques or additional information sources to encourage passengers to stay seated until the bus has completely stopped before alighting;
• Encourage passengers to routinely hold onto grab-rails and seat rails whilst sat down;
• Raise awareness of the impact of a driver’s behaviour and decision making on passengers’ psychological and physical well-being through driver empathy training;
• Consider evaluating and increasing running times in off peak-periods to enable older passengers to reach a seat when boarding, and remain seated until the bus has fully stopped before alighting;
• Consider policy changes to enhance driver behaviour; particularly to not pull away until passengers are sat down;
• Consider introducing ‘gamification’ for bus drivers to rate their driving and provide awards.
For more information and the full project report visit the following link:
https://www.roadsafetytrust.org.uk/funded-projects/17/london-travel-watch-bus-injuries