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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.
CLEAR
3 Ways to Make Bus Driving a Better Job
This report highlights ways that bus driving can be improved for workers to help increase retention and recruitment. The report explains three specific ways: redesigning the job for health and success, raising pay and creating opportunities for advancement, and making a more flexible schedule.
The National Campaign for Transit Justice
March 2024
TOPICS: Hiring and Recruitment, Policy and Planning, Retention, Safety and Health, Workforce Shortage
Mental Health, Wellness, and Resilience for Transit System Workers
TCRP Research Report 245: Mental Health, Wellness, and Resilience for Transit System Workers provides a detailed summary of common factors that influence the mental health, well-being, and resiliency of frontline transit workers and includes a range of solutions that transit agencies can implement to address them. Findings were determined using a mix of research methods, including multiple interviews and focus groups with frontline employees, transit agency management, and union leadership at two different points in the project.
Transit Cooperative Research Program
February 2024
TOPICS: Policy and Planning, Safety and Health
Contributor(s): Sandy Brennan, Elias Frantz Orjuela, Kyle Hearing, Sofie Rhoads, Lori Zeller, Samantha G. Farris, Andrea Lubin, Soumitra S. Bhuyan, Lilly Derby, Koshy Koshy; Transit Cooperative Research Program; Transportation Research Board; National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Mental Health Resources for Transit Workers
The Federal Transit Administration has aggregated the mental health resources to support transit industry workers during challenging times. Topics include suicide prevention, active shooter preparedness, mental health first aid, and more.
U.S. Department of Tranportation, Federal Transit Administration
December 2023
TOPICS: Safety and Health
Procedures for Transportation Workplace Drug and Alcohol Testing Programs: Addition of Oral Fluid Specimen Testing for Drugs
This rule amends the U.S. Department of Transportation’s regulated industry drug testing program to include oral fluid testing. This additional methodology for drug testing will give employers a choice that will help combat employee cheating on urine drug tests and provide a less intrusive means of achieving the safety goals of the program.
Department of Transportation
May 2023
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Air Quality in Transit Buses
This report provides a summary from a TRB Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) Insight Event about the air quality in transit buses, particularly since the start of the pandemic. Since then, an increased understanding of infectious disease in confined spaces and the role of droplets and particles in transmission has been increasingly important to the bus industry. At this event, senior transportation executives; representatives from federal, state, and local government; and representatives from technology, consulting, academia, and engineering to discuss opportunities and the challenges of implementing air quality control in buses.
Transportation Research Board
May 2023
TOPICS: Policy and Planning, Safety and Health
Contributor(s): National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; Transportation Research Board; Transit Cooperative Research Program; Laura Williams
Not Just an Ache: Examining the Rate of Musculoskeletal Pain in City Bus Drivers
This paper examines the rates of musculoskeletal discomfort in a sample of 957 city bus drivers at King County Metro. The researchers conducted a survey demonstrate that city bus drivers experience very high rates of musculoskeletal pain in at least one area of the body. The paper includes policy recommendations, such as the provision of active-suspension seats in the agency’s fleet of buses and better placement of key controls in the drivers’ workstation, as well as considerations for further investigation.
Mineta Transportation Institute
November 2018
TOPICS: Policy and Planning, Safety and Health
Improving the Safety, Health, and Productivity of Transit Operators Through Adequate Restroom Access
This report presents a catalog of good practices, tools, and resources that provide a foundation for implementable strategies to improve restroom access, primarily for transit vehicle operators. The report compiles research from 100 transit agencies on current and best practices; the impact of restroom access on health, safety, and operations, and lessons learned.
Transit Cooperative Research Program
October 2022
TOPICS: Policy and Planning, Safety and Health
A toolbox accompanying the report includes helpful resources such as restroom inventory, planning, and cost estimation tools, as well as templates for restroom access policies and contract language.
Contributor(s): National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; Transportation Research Board; Transit Cooperative Research Program; Robin Mary Gillespie, City University of New York; RLS & Associates Robbie Sarles
Improving the Safety, Health, and Productivity of Transit Operators Through Adequate Restroom Access
Transit Workforce Shortage: Synthesis Report and Toolkit
The Transit Workforce Shortage Study builds a framework for APTA, its members, and its partner organizations to better understand the workforce shortage’s causes and provides best practices for recruiting, hiring, and retaining transit operations workers.
American Public Transportation Association
March 2023
TOPICS: Hiring and Recruitment, Policy and Planning, Retention, Safety and Health, Workforce Shortage
APTA’s Transit Workforce Shortage Study combines information from a survey of public transit workers and interviews with public transportation agencies to provide insight into ways to address the national shortage of transit workers. The report provides information on actions agencies have taken to address the workforce shortage, and the toolkit provides step-by-step answers to workforce shortage scenarios agencies are facing every day.
This report builds on findings from the first interim report.