Effective Interventions that Enhance the Health and Safety of Transit Workers

Absenteeism, workers’ compensation claims, disability claims, and healthcare expenses cost transit agencies millions of dollars each year. These financial impacts highlight the need for interventions that could lead to cost savings, directly benefiting the bottom line of agencies. Workload and time pressure, shift work and fatigue, workplace violence and aggression, poor ergonomics, reduced opportunities to eat healthily, and traffic congestion are key contributors to declining health among transit workers. These stressors lead to mental and physical health concerns, behavioral issues, and heightened fatigue. Addressing these challenges requires a comprehensive approach, including implementing countermeasure tactics such as clear policies and procedures, improving the work environment, offering additional resources and support, optimizing ergonomics, managing traffic congestion, and conducting regular psychosocial risk assessments to mitigate these risks. According to an article in the American Journal of Industrial Medicine (2024), exposure to work‐related psychosocial hazards is projected to become a major occupational health and safety threat. Factors such as organizational culture, interpersonal relationships at work, and working conditions such as shift work can have adverse effects on the mental and physical well-being of operators. TCRP Research Report 217: Improving the Health and Safety of Transit Workers with Corresponding Impacts on the Bottom Line (2020) identified the potential exposures relevant to the transit industry. APTA Transit Workforce Shortage Report (2023) identified that operator assaults have a major impact on workers mental health. TCRP Research Report 245: Mental Health, Wellness, and Resilience for Transit Systems (2024) found transit frontline employees experience mental health and well-being impacts due to job stressors. There remains a gap in understanding the specific risk factors and effective mitigation strategies that can be implemented to enhance the health and safety of transit workers. The primary goal of this study is to determine effective interventions that help improve the health and safety of transit workers. Building on research findings from TCRP Research Report 217, TCRP Research Report 245, and the APTA Transit Workforce Shortage Report, this research will focus on innovative safety protocols, ergonomic improvements, mental health needs, and health programs specifically designed for transit work environments. By identifying and assessing these methods, the study seeks to provide actionable recommendations for transit agencies to enhance worker safety, improve health outcomes, and potentially lower associated costs.

• Record URL:
  • http://apps.trb.org/cmsfeed/TRBNetProjectDisplay.asp?ProjectID=5813
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Contract to a Performing Organization has not yet been awarded.

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Proposed
• Funding: $125,000.00
• Contract Numbers:

  Project F-26A

• Sponsor Organizations:

  Transit Cooperative Research Program

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

  Federal Transit Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Project Managers:

  Schoby, Jamaal

• Start Date: 20250623
• Expected Completion Date: 0
• Actual Completion Date: 0

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Best practices; Health; Occupational safety; Transit personnel; Workforce
• Subject Areas: Administration and Management; Public Transportation; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01937332
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Transportation Research Board
• Contract Numbers: Project F-26A
• Files: TRB, RIP
• Created Date: Nov 18 2024 7:35PM