Stop at the crosswalk, look both ways and watch out for that Metrobus shouting at you. Metro is testing a new program on its buses that the agency hopes will make crosswalks safer for pedestrians. Now, a device installed on some buses will warn those within shouting distance that a bus is turning into their intersection.
“The whole goal is to minimize or eliminate the potential for incidents or accidents at intersections involving buses and pedestrians,” said spokesman Reggie Woodruff.
Here’s how it works: As a driver starts to turn at an intersection, the warning system sounds a voice alert that says, “Pedestrians, bus is turning.” Inside the bus, a voice command reminds the operator, “Caution, look both ways.”
| Local chiefs support Metro reform |
| Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell and D.C. Mayor-elect Vincent Gray are going after Metro. |
| The three executives issued a joint statement Tuesday afternoon in response to a report released last week that called for their direct participation in overseeing Metro’s board of directors. |
| “We have reviewed and discussed the report and agree that [Metro]’s governance structure needs reform,” the joint statement said. |
| The trio will direct their respective secretaries of transportation to meet and develop a comprehensive implementation plan and schedule for the task force report, which will be submitted to them in 45 days, the statement said. – Liz Farmer |
Metrobus has had 13 straight months without a pedestrian fatality. The most recent was in October 2009, when a woman was killed in Northeast D.C. after she exited a Metrobus and was hit by a second one. No pedestrian fatalities were recorded in 2008, but 2007 was a particularly tragic year in which four pedestrians were killed by Metrobuses, including two women on Valentine’s Day.
Comprehensive data on pedestrians injured by a bus were not immediately available.
Although Woodruff said the device is programmed to be louder at noisier intersections and softer at quieter ones, the sudden audio reminder has not been embraced in other areas.
A similar device was installed in Cleveland’s buses a year ago and reaction there has been mixed. Some residents are annoyed by the “talking buses” that startle them while others applaud the innovation, according to blog posts and Cleveland Plain Dealer reader comments.
Mary McMahon, a spokeswoman for the city’s transit authority, said officials are working with the vendor to lower the volume while keeping the system effective “but the bottom line is, it works.”
No pedestrians have been hit by a bus since the system was installed, she said.
Metro is testing the device with 10 buses operating on the Bladensburg lines running through the District. The pilot program is expected to last about a year, at which point officials will determine its effectiveness.
Woodruff said that determination would likely include “several factors, not just based on the number of incidents.”
Other pilot programs are under way in Richmond, New Jersey, Toronto and Nashville, Tenn.
