[IL-Talk] CTA Electric Buses

[Kyle Chellino]

Just got back from out of town

On 6/26/21, Kelly Pierce via IL-Talk <il-talk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> I had my first opportunity on Saturday to evaluate the CTA electric
> buses. Was anyone else at the electric bus event at Jefferson Park? I
> sent the following to CTA officials.  The Chicago Transit Board should
> not approve additional funding for electric buses until the Authority
> puts in place mitigation measures to prevent the higher crash rates
> caused by electric vehicles compared to those with internal combustion
> engines. Apparently, Federal guidelines do not require external
> audible sounds from the electric buses CTA purchased, but they do not
> consider higher ambient noise levels that often occur in big cities
> like Chicago.  Until Saturday, no one at CTA seems to have taken the
> issue of pedestrian safety and electric buses seriously, despite
> reports from the federal government from 10 and 12 years ago that
> clearly show that the quiet nature of electric vehicles causes more
> crashes. Additionally, I asked the CTA board to request the agency’s
> President, Dorval Carter, to investigate and evaluate pedestrian crash
> mitigation efforts of electric vehicles and to deploy measures as part
> of the pilot program known to reduce risk, such as artificial sound
> emission at low speeds.
>
> I would welcome the Federation’s support to amplify my voice and join
> me in raising concerns regarding electric buses and blind pedestrian
> safety.
> Kelly
>
>
> June 26, 2021
>
> This communication Recapitulates information stated to CTA ADA
> Compliance Officer Amy Serpe and Assistant Chief Engineer - Vehicle
> Engineering - Electrification Jason House. The comments were provided
> on June 26, 2021 at the Jefferson Park Transit Center in an electric
> bus demonstration event organized by the Chicago Transit Authority.
>
> Part of the demonstration included the electric bus departing from the
> transit center and then returning a few minutes later to the location
> near where it was before. I observed both the departure and arrival of
> the bus.  The departure of the bus could barely be heard and I could
> not hear the arrival of the electric bus. The presence of diesel buses
> were easily detectable by sound.  The transit center is a major hub on
> the northwest side of Chicago where multiple bus routes stop for
> passengers so immediate comparisons with diesel buses were possible.
>
> I shared my observations with Jason House and referenced federal
> regulations regarding electric vehicles.  He looked up the regulation
> and found that if a vehicle has a sound greater than 60 decibels it is
> not required to make an artificially created external noise.  He took
> a reading of the ambient noise at the transit center and found the
> level was 80 dB. Jason House said he contacted a representative of the
> bus manufacturer, Proterra, during the demonstration who told him that
> another transit agency had installed technology for external sounds to
> warn pedestrians of the bus’s presence. I explained both to Jason
> House and Amy Serpe that many places in Chicago have ambient sound
> conditions that exceed 60 dB, such as the Jefferson Park Transit
> Center, bus stops near expressways and along busy thoroughfares like
> Lake Shore Drive. A blind pedestrian who could not visually see the
> bus would not know that a bus was close if the bus were traveling at
> slow speeds because the sound of the bus could not be heard over the
> ambient environmental noise level. Unlike with diesel buses, I and
> other blind pedestrians are at greater risk of injury and crashes with
> electric buses because their presence cannot be heard. In 2009 the
> National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released the report
> “Incidence of Pedestrian and Bicyclist Crashes by Hybrid Electric
> Passenger Vehicles” with the finding that a hybrid electric vehicle
> was two times more likely to be involved in a pedestrian crash than a
> vehicle using an internal combustion engine in situations involving
> low-speed maneuvers. A 2011 update to the original report titled
> “Incidence Rates of Pedestrian and Bicyclist Crashes by Hybrid
> Electric Passenger Vehicles: An Update” offered more data by adding
> additional years of State crash files as well as by increasing the
> number of States included in the analysis from 12 to 16. The analysis
> was conducted on a total of 24,297 hybrid electric and 1,001,000
> internal combustion engine Honda and Toyota selected vehicles in 16
> States. A total of 186 and 5,699 hybrid and internal combustion
> vehicles respectively were involved in pedestrian crashes, and a total
> of 116 and 3,052 hybrid and internal combustion vehicles respectively
> were involved in bicycle crashes. Overall, the odds ratios indicate
> that the odds of a hybrid electric vehicle being in either a
> pedestrian or bicycle crash are greater, 35 percent and 57 percent
> respectively, than the odds of an internal combustion vehicle being in
> a similar crash.
>
> As is clear from the reports, the danger of electric vehicles is not
> confined to blind persons. Sighted pedestrians and cyclists are in
> danger as well because they walk or turn in front of electric vehicles
> without knowing their close presence. Jason House said the feedback
> would be brought to the electric bus project team for investigation
> and evaluation.
>
> CTA must recognize the increased likelihood of crashes with
> pedestrians and cyclists from electric vehicles, such as electric
> buses, and take strong measures to eliminate the higher crash rate.
> The measures would include having electric buses emit sounds higher
> than ambient noise when traveling at low speeds. I appreciate very
> much the opportunity to evaluate the electric bus pilot program and
> look forward to learning about further efforts.
>
> Kelly Pierce
>
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