Affiliations: School of Psychology and Counselling, Queensland
University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia | Donald Dingsdag, School of Natural Sciences,
University of Western Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
Note: [] Corresponding author: Dr. Herbert Biggs, School of Psychology
and Counselling, Queensland University of Technology, Beams Road, Carseldine,
Queensland 4034, Australia. Tel.: +61 7 3138 4722; Fax: +61 7 3138 4660;
E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract: Metropolitan bus drivers daily face work in a stressful and draining
work environment, exposing them to the serious risk of driver fatigue. However,
there has been a dearth of information exploring the unique antecedents and
effects of such fatigue. To date, much of the research into metropolitan bus
drivers has been under the umbrella of large heavy vehicle driving studies,
which include a disproportionally large population of long-haul drivers, who
are likely to face a significantly different set of fatigue factors [1]. The
present study aimed to investigate which work and environmental factors may
cause fatigue in metropolitan bus drivers by seeking drivers' own perspectives
on the issues. To this end, focus groups were held at five bus depots in Sydney
and Newcastle, with an effort made to include a stratified sample of drivers at
each. Each of the groups were invited to nominate what factors they felt were
most salient, with a number of common factors emerging across the depots. Key
themes identified were: support from management; ticketing and related issues;
interaction with passengers; cabin ergonomics; tight route schedules;
turn-around and shift irregularity; extended shift cycles; interactions with
other road users; and extended commute times.
Keywords: Bus drivers, fatigue, stress, scheduling, commute times
