Occupational Health Internship Program at a Metropolitan Transit Authority: Exploring Split Shifts as a Health and Safety Concern for Bus Operators

Bus operators are exposed to many occupational hazards, ranging from workplace violence to air pollution to biohazards. Through a summer project, Occupational Health Internship Program students explored bus operators’ health and safety concerns at the Amalgamated Transit Union Local #265 in San Jose, CA. Pilot surveys and individual interviews were used to identify operators’ perspectives on split shifts. A majority of a small sample of 109 bus operators reported dissatisfaction with split shifts, experience with physical and mental fatigue, stress from working these shifts, and inability to focus on immediate tasks due to working split shifts. Some operators preferred split shifts for various reasons, including having time to perform errands, eat lunch, and rest. Operators’ suggestions to improve route scheduling include split shift observations by management, upward communication with senior management, and improvement of bus yard and relief point facilities where operators take their breaks between shifts.