The Florida Transit Safety and Operations Network (FTSON) quarterly meeting was held on Tuesday, October 17, 2023, at the Regional Transit System City of Gainesville in Gainesville, Florida. The meeting was called to order by Paul Goyette, Program Manager of FTSON. Safety practices and emergency exits were demonstrated by RTS host, Roy Darnall.

Welcome and Introductions

A warm welcome was extended to our FDOT Project Managers Ashley Porter, Transit Safety Program Manager, and Tony Brandin, FDOT Transit Operations Manager. Appreciation to all the meeting attendees was expressed.

Agenda

A brief overview of the agenda was provided, giving insight of the day’s topics which included FDOT Updates on 14-90 Florida Administrative Code (FAC), Bus Operator Training Discussion and the Statewide Transit Insurance Pool, FTSON Security Committee Update, and a new RTS Research Project. The Apprenticeship Academy and Bus Stops in Parking Lots were on the outline. Also included were Wheelchair Maintenance/Condition/Policy, and PSTA’s Entry Level Driver Training (ELDT) Process.

FDOT Updates on Rule 14-90, Florida Administrative Code (FAC)

Ashley Porter, FDOT provided an update on the activities that have been going on in the process of updating the Rule. It has been a long process, but once the writing has been completed, it will go to the legal team for review. Once they have approved it, CUTR will provide training for the state to learn and become compliant with the new requirements and policies.

Bus Stops in Parking Lots – Jacob Lunceford, VOTRAN

Votran has undergone reorganization within the last 10 months and Volusia County has brought Planning, Finance, and Management of the transit system in-house. Operations & Maintenance is still contracted, and an RFP process for a new O&M Contractor is underway. In many areas, bus routes operate into shopping centers. Sometimes these are on internal service roadways, but other times this can mean through the parking lot itself which creates a high probability of conflicts between buses and automobiles as well as pedestrians. VOTRAN would like to ask how other transit systems handle parking lot situations, and how they can make transit safer in and around parking lots. Jacob shared images and statistics of the areas where VOTRAN operates in parking areas. They are presently working with FDOT to add mid-block crosswalks, so the buses do not have to enter the parking lots.

Several members of the audience responded to the VOTRAN request by sharing how they handled similar situations. Paul shared that LeeTran put in six stations at Edison Mall to avoid parking lot interaction, and Dean (CUTR) stated that CitrusConnection moved the stops to the back side of the retail store. Since county government is often not clear on the dangers of these situations, John (SCAT) suggested inviting county officials to ride along on the bus to see firsthand the issues transit deals with on a daily basis. It was wonderful to see how the agency representatives came together to offer suggestions to VOTRAN, and Jason expressed his appreciation for the numerous recommendations.

Bus Operator Training Discussion: Air Brake Test for Operators/Students – David Frayer and John Furlong, The Breeze

David and John gave a presentation on how Sarasota County The Breeze trains operators/students for the Air Brake test. They literally gave their agency presentation of how they train beginning with the starting of the bus to the way you listen for the air leaks, low air, building pressure and parking brake hold tests. They discussed the reasons why the operator needs to know and understand 14-90. Don’t forget to remember the old stuff and “erase liability with knowledge; make your operators subject matter experts.” This statement is especially important if ever called into litigation. Roy (RTS) asked how do you get senior drivers to buy into learning a topic they already believe they know? The response was to remind them that the training is to protect the driver for potential legal issues.

Statewide Transit Insurance Pool – Ashley Porter (FDOT) and Paul Goyette (CUTR)

FDOT is investigating a statewide transit insurance pool which would benefit all public transit agencies. In summation, while promoting risk reduction, the pool would provide our public transit agency members with the benefits of combined resources to self-insure, to purchase excess insurance, to manage claims and litigation, and receive risk management and training. Transit insurance pools have been successful in other parts of the country and provide a good model for Florida. Additional information will be forthcoming.

FTSON Security Committee Update

The FTSON Security Committee met for the first time virtually on May 25th. The committee is comprised of Ashley Porter (FDOT), Tony Brandin (FDOT) and 15+ transit agency and CUTR representatives. The purpose of the committee was defined, and dialogue was initiated. Several topics of focus were discussed including BASE Assessment, utilizing the Listserv, Operator De-Escalation training for security issues, operator barriers, and security training. It is encouraged to host Law Enforcement visits and train for active shooter scenarios.

The committee will continue to meet virtually and share knowledge with the FTSON. It was also recommended that agencies share their policies and SOPs and how they are handling trespassing and vehicle security (catalytic converters, other vehicle parts, batteries, etc.). Additional ideas and notations came from the audience. It was clear this topic touched a need throughout the state for all agencies, no matter the size or region they were located. It is important for smaller agencies to also target specific security issues, this is not just at the larger agencies, and everyone should focus on the current, relevant issues happening in Florida.
Eye-Tracking Applications for Transit – An RTS Research Project with the University of Florida

Bryce Grame, UF Transportation Institute and Roy Darnall, RTS

Funded by the FHWA Dwight David Eisenhower Transportation Fellowship, Bryce Grame gave an interesting presentation on how eye-tracking shows where the driver is looking while behind the wheel. It has been used extensively in the advertising field to find out what the consumer is looking at, and now we are beginning to use it for transportation purposes. University of Florida is the first university to use it in field experiments, utilizing RTS operators and vehicles.

A video demonstrated specific ways that eye-tracking can be used in transit to understand drivers’ perceptions, and to pilot a transit eye-tracking study, opening doors for future research. Bryce brought with him a pair of SensoMotoric ETG 2head-mounted glasses which are worn by the testing operator. They glasses provide quantitative and qualitative information through field experimentation and semi-structured interviews. The video showed how the driver responded to pedestrians and approaching traffic, and how the operator checked traffic as he entered intersections. The glasses did not put the operator in any unsafe conditions. Roy expressed appreciation to Bryce for including RTS in this study. Everyone was astonished at the things we could see in real-time and how the operator was watching his environment by following the movement of the eye pupil. In the future, researchers will continue to collect and analyze eye-tracking data to learn more about route crashes, pedestrian incidents and how we can make everyone safer each day. Special thanks were also expressed to RTS and to the UF Aid Project which includes Technology and Innovation Deployment Program (TIDP), Accelerated Innovation Deployment (AID) Demonstration, Florida Department of Transportation, and the Gainesville Pedestrian-Bicyclist Connected Vehicle Safety Project.

Upcoming Training Opportunities – Stephanie Lewis, CUTR

Stephanie (CUTR) shared information about the Supervisor and Leadership Training for Florida Transit Agencies. The newly developed course offers eleven points for development including Leadership, Coaching and Mentoring, Teamwork, Interpersonal Skills, Communication, Written Communication, Radio Communication, Business Ethics, Union Management, Discipline and Evaluations and Performance Assessments. The inaugural class will be in Fort Myers on January 17-18, 2024.

CUTR will be hosting the following USDOT Transportation Safety Institute courses of Transit Industrial Safety Management (FT00457) on January 29 – February 2, 2024, Transit Bus System Safety (FT0053) on February 26 – March 1, 2024, Fundamentals of Bus Collision Investigation (FT00435) on March 4 – 8, 2024, and SMS Principles for Transit (FT00564) on April 30 – May 2, 2024. Registration for all classes can be made through the LMS at www.transportationlearning.org.

The Florida RTAP will be hosting webinars Never Surprise Them at the Podium – Building Relationships and Informing Decision Makers in Advance on October 19, 2023, and Everyone Can Be a Leader on October 30, 2023. A recording of Uncovering the Truth: Bus Accident Investigation is available on the RTAP and FTSON websites.

Other upcoming statewide events include the 2024 Triple Crown Bus Roadeo on April 19-20, 2024, at JTA in Jacksonville, and the FPTA/FDOT/CUTR Professional Development Workshop & Transit Safety and Operations Summit on June 3-5, 2024, at the USF Embassy Suites in Tampa.

Apprentice Academy – Stephanie Lewis, CUTR

Hosted in partnership between the Florida Department of Transportation’s Statewide Transit Training and Technical Assistance Program, the Center for Urban Transportation Research (CUTR), and the Federal Transit Administration’s Transit Workforce Center (TWC), this academy will include both bus operator and technician apprenticeship programs. Some of the objectives include forming a joint apprenticeship committee to establish contact with local workforce boards for potential funding opportunities and establish contact with regional representatives from the Florida Department of Education, Office of Apprenticeship. It will institute a strong mentoring program and develop an apprenticeship agreement with corresponding work process schedule. creating education and workforce development partnerships. It will offer access to funding available for registered apprenticeship programs and recruiting apprentices.

The target audience will be a team of individuals knowledgeable about bus driver and/or maintenance work and training with the level of responsibility necessary to move an apprenticeship program forward. Representatives from Management and Frontline workforce (or, in a union environment, union leaders familiar with the work) are invited to participate. The Academy will accept a maximum of 30 participants. For additional information please contact Stephanie Lewis at zavacki@usf.edu.

Final Thoughts

The floor was opened to any additional comments or questions from the attendees. A question was posed by Paul (CUTR) regarding future FTSON meetings being virtual or in-person gatherings. The pros and cons of both were briefly discussed. Thanks to everyone was once again expressed to the attendees and the presenters.

The meeting was adjourned at 11:57 am.