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twc@transportcenter.orgResource Center
The Transit Workforce Center is pleased to host a curated collection of publications and other materials to assist stakeholders engaged in transit workforce development. The Resource Center includes case studies, training materials, research reports, and other materials of interest, including publications produced by federal government agencies, transit organizations, and independent research entities. Resources may be filtered by topic, resource type, and transit mode. This TWC blog post explains how to use the Resource Center.
We are continuing to update the Resource Center regularly. Please contact us via the Request Help menu option if you would like assistance using the Resource Center or are looking for resources on a particular topic. We also welcome suggestions of topics or specific resources to add.
Content in external resources linked from the Resource Center is solely the responsibility of the resource authors and does not necessarily reflect the perspectives of or endorsement by the Transit Workforce Center.
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Advancing Rider and Worker Safety
The 2022-2024 Charter tasked the Transit Advisory Committee for Safety (TRACS) with developing recommendations that the Federal Transit Administration could implement to improve public safety. This report includes recommendations related to one of the Charter’s safety focus areas: Advancing Rider and Worker Safety.
Transit Advisory Committee for Safety
February 2024
TOPICS: Policy and Planning, Safety and Health, Training
Responses to General Directive 24-1: Required Actions Regarding Assaults on Transit Workers
FTA published Responses to General Directive 24-1: Required Actions Regarding Assaults on Transit Workers. FTA’s initial analysis of agency responses shows more than two-thirds of transit agencies determined that safety risk mitigations are necessary to reduce the risk of assaults on transit workers, and these agencies are working to roll out a variety of mitigation measures.
Federal Transit Administration
January 2025
TOPICS: Policy and Planning, Safety and Health
Making Connections 2024 – Conflict Resolution and De-escalation – Models for Operator Training
This session about conflict resolution and de-escalation was presented as part of TWC’s Making Connections 2024 transit workforce conference in November, 2024.
Transit Workforce Center
November 2024
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Session Description: De-escalation, conflict avoidance, and conflict resolution are integral to an operator’s job. Operators primarily work alone, and the driver’s seat is an extremely vulnerable position. In this session, we honestly and productively explored the ways in which operators can deal with all manner of attacks, physical and verbal, and analyzed approaches to address the range of challenges that come with this profession. Presenters discussed different training models used to support operators with their challenges and engaged with the audience in considering options that can make a positive impact.
Moderator:
- Maurice Beard: Senior Workforce Development Advisor – International Transportation Learning Center / Transit Workforce Center
Speakers:
- Jamaine “G” Gibson: Director of Apprenticeships and Workforce Development – Amalgamated Transit Union
- Tricia Prince: Safety and Training Manager – Chattanooga Area Regional Transportation Authority
- Lakecha Strickland: President – Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1212 (TN)
- Melissa Thomas: Transportation Training Manager – Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA)
- Lisa Rae Vickery: Deputy Director of Operations Development – Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority
Making Connections 2024 – Moving Toward Solutions for Transit Worker Safety
This session about transit worker safety was presented as part of TWC’s Making Connections 2024 transit workforce conference in November, 2024.
Transit Workforce Center
November 2024
TOPICS: Labor-Management Partnerships, Making Connections Conference, Policy and Planning, Safety and Health
Session Description: Transit workers operate in a challenging environment in close contact with the public. Recent years have seen an increase in assaults on transit vehicles and in transit facilities, making the protection of transit workers and riders a crucial goal for the industry. This presentation will feature perspectives from research, transit agency labor and management, and the federal government. Panelists shared updates on transit assault trends, examples of mitigation strategies identified through engagement with agency leaders and frontline workers, innovations in operator workspace design, and models of successful joint labor-management safety planning through FTA’s updated PTASP rule.
Moderator:
- Lisa Staes: Associate Director – Center for Urban Transportation Research
Speakers:
- Lisa Staes: Associate Director – Center for Urban Transportation Research
- Russell Bateman: Training and Education Administrator – Amalgamated Transit Union
- Andrew Falotico: Health and Safety Director – Amalgamated Transit Union
- Alexander Houck: Deputy Chief Safety Officer – Maryland Transit Administration
- Stewart Mader: Senior Program Analyst for Safety Policy – Federal Transit Administration
- Michael McMillan: President and Business Agent – Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1300 (MD)
Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan (PTASP) Technical Assistance Center (TAC)
The Public Transportation Agency Safety Plans (PTASP) Technical Assistance Center (TAC) provides comprehensive technical assistance to help the transit industry meet PTASP regulation requirement.
Federal Transit Administration
August 2024
TOPICS: Policy and Planning, Safety and Health
The Public Transportation Agency Safety Plans (PTASP) Technical Assistance Center (TAC) provides comprehensive technical assistance to help the transit industry meet PTASP regulation requirements, as outlined in 49 CFR part 673.
The TAC:
- Provides one-on-one technical assistance
- Facilitates training and peer-sharing via live webinars and roundtables
- Conducts voluntary technical reviews of draft Agency Safety Plans
- Maintains a resource library with technical assistance tools.
Bus Operator Barrier Design: Guidelines and Considerations
TCRP Research Report 249: Bus Operator Barrier Design: Guidelines and Considerations provides information and guidance for North American public transportation agencies, standards committees, and government and non-government policymaking organizations on designing, procuring, and installing bus operator barriers.
Transit Cooperative Research Program
July 2024
TOPICS: Policy and Planning, Procurement, Safety and Health
The importance of security barriers for transit bus operators became even clearer after the fatal attack on a Tampa, Florida, bus operator in 2019. The need for security barriers was reinforced by a serious attack on another operator for that same system later that year. While these are two extreme examples, they are likely not unique, as many assaults against transit workers have been underreported in the past. Another important but more pernicious risk to bus operator health is viral and bacterial infection.
TCRP Research Report 249: Bus Operator Barrier Design: Guidelines and Considerations provides information and guidance for North American public transportation agencies, standards committees, and government and non-government policymaking organizations on designing, procuring, and installing bus operator barriers to prioritize the health and safety of essential operators and the public they serve.
Contributor(s): National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; STYL&TECH; International Transportation Learning Center; Transportation Research Board; Transit Cooperative Research Program; Andrew Krum; Scott Tidwell; Joshua Skole; Erin Mabry; Aditi Manke; Tarah Crowder; Christy Campoll
Tools and Strategies for Eliminating Assaults Against Transit Operators
This TCRP report documents policies, practices, and operating procedures related to preventing, mitigating, and responding to operator assaults. The varied format, scale, and implementation of policies and procedures set by transit agencies can shape mitigation approaches. Relevant skills and training required by transit operators to address this issue vary as well.
Transit Cooperative Research Program
May 2018
TOPICS: Policy and Planning, Safety and Health
Volume 1 documents the materials used to develop the report and Volume 2, the user guide, provides potential countermeasures and strategies to prevent or mitigate assaults against transit operators, including an operator assault risk management toolbox, vulnerability self-assessment tool, route-based risk calculator, as well as supportive checklists, guidelines, and methodologies.
Contributor(s): National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; Transportation Research Board; Transit Cooperative Research Program; Countermeasures Assessment and Security Experts, LLC and Transportation Resource Associates, Inc.
Using Your Safety Management System (SMS) to Protect Transit Workers from Assaults
FTA is working with transit agencies to address the ongoing risk of assaults on transit workers using Safety Management System principles and methods, which FTA adopted as the basis of its Public Transportation Safety Program and Public Transportation Agency Safety Plans (PTASP) regulation.
FTA has developed technical assistance resources to help transit agencies conduct safety risk assessments related to assaults on transit workers and develop safety risk mitigations.
Check out FTA’s full page of crime prevention assistance resources.
Federal Transit Administration
December 2023
TOPICS: Policy and Planning, Safety and Health