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Evaluation of Bus Collision Avoidance and Warning System

Buses regularly share the road with people walking and biking, posing a risk of crashes. In 2017, the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT) initiated a demonstration project to plan, implement, and evaluate a Collision Avoidance and Warning System (CAWS) on up to 50 buses. Several local transit agencies throughout the state are participating, and Virginia Transportation Research Council (VTRC) is partnering with DRPT to evaluate the demonstration project in terms of system effectiveness, cost effectiveness, and acceptance by bus operators. Proposed tasks include reviewing the literature, collecting quantitative data logged by the CAWS system, collecting qualitative data such as bus operator acceptance through interviews and surveys, analyzing the data, and performing a cost-benefit analysis. Recommendations could include operator training and use of the data that could support decisions by transit agency administrators, DRPT, and VDOT. Benefits of the proposed research could be in the form of reductions in crashes and the associated costs.