Working as a Transit Operator is a stressful occupation. At a glance, people often assume that this arises from being exposed to the same driving stresses we all experience: increased roadway congestion, more extreme storms, distracted pedestrians and drivers, and the anxiety that comes with sharing the road with people for whom speed limits seem to be a suggestion and “defensive driving” is a foreign concept. That kind of workday would stress anyone out.

But according to John Samuelsen, International President of the Transport Workers Union of America, violence is “the dirty secret of public transit” throughout North America. The Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU)—the largest labor union for US and Canadian transit workers—has called for a national framework to address assaults and protect workers. A report issued by the Canadian Urban Transit Association (CUTA) in 2022 estimated that 2,000 Operators are assaulted annually. According to estimates from the US Department of Transportation, more than 3,000 transit workers are physically assaulted each year.

In an interview with the Associated Press in early 2025, Samuelsen noted that “In New York City and Philadelphia combined, there are more than 20 assaults a week against Operators.” For example, SEPTA, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, has suffered a string of shootings in the Philadelphia area over the last two years, including the fatal shooting of a SEPTA bus Operator in late 2023, and a 2024 shooting that injured eight high school students as they boarded a SEPTA bus.

Different agencies have embraced different strategies to deter and mitigate violence, including installing cameras inside their vehicles (with accompanying warning signage), running anti-assault campaigns including in-vehicle signage clearly defining assault and warning about penalties, and adding protective barriers around Operators. SEPTA has embarked on a pilot program to add bullet-resistant enclosures to eight Philadelphia city buses. But these barriers don’t come cheap: retrofitting a single bus will cost SEPTA $15,000 to $18,000—totaling around $132,000 for their pilot program. That balloons to more than $23 million if these measures are rolled out across their 1,400-bus fleet.

Considering the cost of barriers—and the fact that passengers are left exposed, even if the driver is protected—it’s worth asking if barriers are the best answer.

Fostering Comprehensive Bus Driver Protection in Any Situation

William Cameron is the Director of Safety and Training at Paul Revere Transportation, following a 25-year career with the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), largely focused on safety and training.

He’s found that while barriers are undeniably effective in certain conditions, they are not a cure-all. For example, while barriers typically prevent physical assaults on Operators, they can do little to address verbal abuse, threats, and other forms of harassment targeting the Operator. What safety the barrier does provide does not extend to passengers and bystanders, who may be harmed during a violent outburst or themselves become targets. Recent research published by the National Academy of Sciences found that barriers broadly helped reduce Operator injuries, but were not widely embraced by Operators.

Cameron concludes: “That experience helped me realize that a barrier is almost like PPE [personal protective equipment], the last line of defense for the driver. Meanwhile, when you look at the safety spectrum, training may be one of the most effective mitigations if done correctly. Something like de-escalation training doesn’t just protect you if a situation gets out of control. It allows you to control the situation, alter it, and steer things in a safer direction.”

Using Immersive Simulation to Increase Bus Safety—for Operators, Passengers, and the Public

Cameron has long advocated for the use of immersive simulation-based training for Transit Operators. The latest generation of immersive transit simulators, like FAAC’s MB-2000, takes a comprehensive approach to bus safety. In these simulators, it is possible to run combined training scenarios that bring together FAAC’s standard driving simulation systems and the Transit Response passenger interaction simulator. In such a system, the front view out of the bus is a computer-simulated driving scenario in which the Operator works on skills like setting up for turns, servicing stops, and so on. Meanwhile, in the passenger mirror, the Operator sees live actors and can be drawn into a human interaction or customer service scenario that they need to manage while safely piloting the bus.

As FAAC’s Transportation Business Manager, Jason Francisco explains, “Embedding the bus driver in that complete experience, that’s what makes a simulator so powerful at helping drivers build confidence and poise in an emergency. A natural human inclination is to stand up and ‘take charge.’ But that’s one thing a Transit Operator cannot do while they’re driving the vehicle. With comprehensive immersive simulation, you are addressing whatever it is—a fare issue, a fight, an agitated passenger, a medical situation—right from the seated position while still engaged in that driving task.”

Interested in how comprehensive simulation training can improve bus safety for everyone—Operators, passengers, and the public? Contact our team of experts to discuss how much more value you can get from the same training hours.