Bus Operator Barrier Design: Guidelines and Considerations (2024)

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TCRP Research Report 249 Pre-Publication Draft— Subject to Revision Bus Operator Barrier Design GUIDELINES AND CONSIDERATIONS Andrew Krum Christy Campoll Scott Tidwell RLS & Associates, Inc. Joshua Skole Dayton, OH Erin Mabry Aditi Manke STYL&TECH Tarah Crowder Quebec City, QC Virginia Tech Transportation Institute Blacksburg, VA International Transportation Learning Center Silver Spring, MD Submitted March 2024 DISCLAIMER The opinions and conclusions expressed or implied in this document are those of the researchers who performed the research. They are not necessarily those of the program spon- sors; the Transportation Research Board; or the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. The information contained in this document was taken directly from the submis- sion of the authors. This material has not been edited by the Transportation Research Board. SPECIAL NOTE: This document IS NOT an official publication of the Transportation Research Board or the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. A final, edited version of this document will be released at a later date. 

© 2024 by the National Academy of Sciences. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and the graphical logo are trademarks of the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The research for this document was conducted through one or more programs administered by the Cooperative Research Programs (CRP) of the Transportation Research Board (TRB) of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine:  Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) research is sponsored by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).  Behavioral Traffic Safety Cooperative Research Program (BTSCRP) research is sponsored by the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA), and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).  National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) research is sponsored by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).  Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) research is sponsored by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) in cooperation with the Transit Development Corporation. COPYRIGHT INFORMATION Authors herein are responsible for the authenticity of their materials and for obtaining written permissions from publishers or persons who own the copyright to any previously published or copyrighted material used herein. Cooperative Research Programs (CRP) grants permission to reproduce material in this publication for classroom and not-for-profit purposes. Permission is given with the understanding that none of the material will be used to imply endorsement by TRB and any of its program sponsors of a particular product, method, or practice. It is expected that those reproducing the material in this document for educational and not-for-profit uses will give appropriate acknowledgment of the source of any reprinted or reproduced material. For other uses of the material, request permission from CRP. DISCLAIMER To facilitate more timely dissemination of research findings, this pre-publication document is taken directly from the submission of the research agency. The material has not been edited by TRB. The opinions and conclusions expressed or implied in this document are those of the researchers who performed the research. They are not necessarily those of the Transportation Research Board; the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; or the program sponsors. The Transportation Research Board does not develop, issue, or publish standards or specifications. The Transportation Research Board manages applied research projects which provide the scientific foundation that may be used by Transportation Research Board sponsors, industry associations, or other organizations as the basis for revised practices, procedures, or specifications. The Transportation Research Board, the National Academies, and the sponsors of the Transit Cooperative Research Program do not endorse products or manufacturers. Trade or manufacturers’ names appear herein solely because they are considered essential to the object of the report. This pre-publication document IS NOT an official publication of the Cooperative Research Programs; the Transportation Research Board; or the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Recommended citation: Krum, A., S. Tidwell, J. Skole, E. Mabry, A. Manke, T. Crowder, C. Campoll, RLS & Associates, Inc., STYL&TECH, and International Transportation Learning Center. 2024. Bus Operator Barrier Design: Guidelines and Considerations. Pre-publication draft of TCRP Research Report 249. Transportation Research Board, Washington, DC. 

Contents   SUMMARY OF BUS OPERATOR BARRIER DESIGN GUIDANCE AND CONSIDERATIONS . 1  Objective ........................................................................................................................................................... 2  Approach ........................................................................................................................................................... 2  Design Criteria ................................................................................................................................................... 2  Key Findings ....................................................................................................................................................... 3  Retrofit or Integrated Bus Barrier Design, Concept A ............................................................................................... 3  Retrofit or Integrated Bus Barrier Design, Concept B ............................................................................................... 4  Novel “Bus of the Future” Bus Barrier Design, Concept C ........................................................................................ 5  INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................................... 6  APPROACH TO BUS OPERATOR BARRIER DESIGNS .................................................................. 8  Survey on Transit Bus Barriers ............................................................................................................................ 9  Guidelines, Standards, and Previous Research .................................................................................................... 9  Guidelines ................................................................................................................................................................. 9  Standards ................................................................................................................................................................ 10  Previous Research ................................................................................................................................................... 10  Design Criteria .................................................................................................................................................. 19  Design for Risk Mitigation ................................................................................................................................. 21  Concept A Risk Mitigation Targets .......................................................................................................................... 21  Concept B Risk Mitigation Targets .......................................................................................................................... 22  Concept C Risk Mitigation Targets .......................................................................................................................... 23  FINDINGS ................................................................................................................................................ 25  Survey Results .................................................................................................................................................. 25  Survey Demographics ............................................................................................................................................. 25  Agency Barrier Use.................................................................................................................................................. 27  Barrier Design and Process ..................................................................................................................................... 28  Maintenance ........................................................................................................................................................... 30  Costs ........................................................................................................................................................................ 31  Effectiveness and Desired Features ........................................................................................................................ 32  Barrier Designs .................................................................................................................................................. 33  Requirement Matrix Concept Status .................................................................................................................. 35  

Risk Mitigation Evaluation ................................................................................................................................. 36  Concept A Risk Mitigation ....................................................................................................................................... 36  Concept B Risk Mitigation ....................................................................................................................................... 39  Concept C Risk Mitigation ....................................................................................................................................... 44  Stakeholder Feedback and Considerations ........................................................................................................ 47  Concept B Operations Feedback ............................................................................................................................. 48  Concept C Operations Feedback ............................................................................................................................. 48  Concept B HVAC Manufacturer Feedback .............................................................................................................. 48  Concept C HVAC Manufacturer Feedback .............................................................................................................. 48  General, Glazing Supplier Feedback ....................................................................................................................... 48  General, Bus Manufacturer Feedback .................................................................................................................... 49  Concept A Bus Manufacturer Feedback ................................................................................................................. 49  Concept B Bus Manufacturer Feedback .................................................................................................................. 49  Concept C Bus Manufacturer Feedback .................................................................................................................. 49  CONCLUSIONS ....................................................................................................................................... 50  REFERENCES .......................................................................................................................................... 52  APPENDIX A: DESIGN CRITERIA MATRIX .................................................................................... 54  APPENDIX B: BILL OF MATERIALS ............................................................................................. 115  

Acknowledgments The team recognizes a key thought leader, Brian Sherlock of the Amalgamated Transit Union, who has worked tirelessly for years to communicate the need for well-designed and integrated bus operator barriers to protect our transit workers and better serve the public. The research team also acknowledges manufacturers and suppliers who provided critical engineering feedback on the concept barrier configurations including: GILLIG, Thermo King, and SABIC. The engineering team at GILLIG was also instrumental in providing a recent generation transit bus vehicle computer model to the research team on which to demonstrate barrier concepts A and B.