The Bus Safety Standard (BSS) is focussed on vehicle design and safety system performance and their contribution to the Mayor of London’s Transport Strategy. This sets a target to achieve zero road collision deaths involving buses in London by 2030 and zero Killed and Seriously Injured (KSI) by 2041 across the whole road network. To develop the standard a large body of research and technical input was needed, so Transport for London (TfL) commissioned TRL (the Transport Research Laboratory) to deliver the research and consult with the bus industry. The delivery team has included a mix of engineers and human factors experts, to provide the balance of research required.
All TfL buses conform to regulatory requirements. TfL already uses a more demanding specification when contracting services and this requires higher standards in areas including environmental and noise emissions, accessibility, construction, operational requirements, and more. Many safety aspects are covered in the specification such as fire suppression systems, door and fittings safety, handrails, day time running lights, and others. However, the new BSS goes further with a range of additional requirements, developed by TRL and their partners and peer-reviewed by independent safety experts. Accompanying the specification there are guidance notes to help inform the bus operators and manufacturers of what the specification is aiming to achieve and some practical tips on how to meet the requirements. For each safety measure considered, a thorough review was completed covering the current regulations and standards, the specification of the current bus fleet and available solutions.
Full-scale trials and testing were also carried out with the following objectives. Firstly, the tests were used to evaluate the solutions in a realistic environment to ensure that a safety improvement was feasible. Secondly, the testing was used to inform the development of objective test and assessment protocols. These protocols will allow repeatable testing according to precise instructions so that the results are comparable. The assessment protocol provides instructions for how to interpret the test data for a bus or system, which can be a simple pass/fail check, or something more complex intended to encourage best practice levels of performance. These assessment protocols will allow TfL to judge how well each bus performs against the BSS, and will allow a fair comparison in terms of safety if they have a choice between models for a given route.
It is important to ensure the money is spent wisely on the package of measures that will give the most cost-effective result. If zero fatalities can be achieved at a low cost it remains better than achieving it at a higher cost. TRL has developed a cost-benefit model describing the value of implementing the safety measures, both in terms of casualties saved and the technology and operational costs of achieving that. Input from the bus industry has formed the backbone of all the research and the cost BSS Evaluation of Runaway Bus Prevention benefit modelling. This modelling has helped inform the decisions of TfL’s bus safety development team in terms of implementing the safety measures on new buses.
