Synthesis of Information Related to Transit Practices. Topic SA-63. How Transit Operator Health and Wellbeing Affects Workforce Strength

Public transit agencies are facing significant operator workforce shortages that was only exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The lower-than-normal hiring and retention rates, coupled with an aging workforce and stressors affecting operators’ physical and mental health are the leading factors contributing the workforce shortage conundrum. Research finds that transit operators are experiencing adverse impacts on health and wellbeing given the demands and stressors of the occupation, particularly for Black, indigenous, people of color (BIPOC), and women operators. According to an article published in the American Journal of Industrial Medicine, exposure to work‐related psychosocial hazards is projected to become a major occupational health and safety threat.[1] There is an urgent call to address work‐related psychosocial hazards and improve worker well‐being. Increased probabilities of poor health outcomes for transit operators may be tied to the larger social issue of racial and gender health disparities, as many transit operators are BIPOC and women. These factors are contributing to the operator recruitment and retention phenomenon, in which transit agencies are starting to pilot innovative approaches aimed at reducing the stresses associated with role. A few examples include alternative scheduling approaches, new classifications of leave time that allow for recovery following trauma exposure, and material benefits such as childcare supports. While these approaches are in a novel stage, there is minimal research exploring the relationship between operator health, the health risks associated with being a transit operator, and how actual or proposed workforce solutions consider these issues. The purpose of this synthesis is to better understand how exposure to psychosocial hazards impact operators’ health and wellbeing. This synthesis shall identify strategies transit agencies are employing to reduce the risk of adverse impacts to operator health and well-being among BIPOC and women operators.

• Record URL:
  • http://apps.trb.org/cmsfeed/TRBNetProjectDisplay.asp?ProjectID=5757
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Contract to a Performing Organization has not yet been awarded.

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Proposed
• Funding: $55,000
• Contract Numbers:

  Project J-07, Topic SA-63

• Sponsor Organizations:

  Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) Synthesis

  Transportation Research Board
  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC    20001

  Federal Transit Administration

  Office of Research, Demonstration and Innovation
  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Project Managers:

  Schoby, Jamaal

• Start Date: 20241125
• Expected Completion Date: 0
• Actual Completion Date: 0

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Health; Mental condition; Minorities; Shortages; Transit personnel; Workforce
• Subject Areas: Public Transportation; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01925766
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Transportation Research Board
• Contract Numbers: Project J-07, Topic SA-63
• Files: TRB, RIP
• Created Date: Jul 29 2024 3:58PM