Practices to Protect Bus Operators from Passenger Assault

The purpose of this synthesis was to document the state of the practice and report on the practices and policies implemented by transit agencies to deter and mitigate assaults on bus operators. The report incorporates workplace violence issues and up-to-date information on bus operator security measures and practices. The report offers a literature summary of relevant materials; results of a survey distributed to transit agencies in different regions in the United States and Canada; and the results of interviews conducted with key agency personnel. The results of these telephone interviews are presented as profiles with increased coverage of specific security methods and practices used by selected transit agencies. Survey responses from 66 of 88 transit agencies in the United States and Canada, a 75% response rate, are discussed. Twenty-two transit agency profiles offer increased coverage of special security methods or practices of operator security measures used by selected transit agencies, and an appendix of supplemental information contains information about state laws.