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This study used the bus incident data in Victoria, Australia to establish the relationship between operational characteristics and the safety performance of bus operators. A series of count models were investigated to account for methodological challenges, including excess zeros and panel data structure. The empirical results highlighted the different effects operational characteristics had on the risk and prevalence of bus incidents. Operators of smaller size, providing non-route services and operating in regional areas had a lower risk of having any reported incidents compared with larger route operators and operators in areas of higher accessibility. In cases where at least one incident had been reported, incident frequency was higher for operators with higher fleet total travel distance, older fleets and better roadworthy performance (this factor being counterintuitive). Findings from this study provide safety regulators with evidence-driven opportunities to enhance bus safety, including improving incident reporting practices, the establishment of a comprehensive database for heavy vehicle operators, and specific efforts targeted at older fleets.

This paper examines the effects of vehicular and operational characteristics on bus roadworthiness. The analysis was based on annual bus inspection data in Victoria, Australia, between 2014 and 2017, consisting of 17,630 inspections of 6,447 vehicles run by 252 operators. A multilevel modeling approach was employed to account for the hierarchical data structure where inspections are nested within vehicles and vehicles within operators. The results offered insights into the effects on bus roadworthiness of characteristics attributable to inspections, vehicles, and operators. The probability of failing an inspection was found to be positively associated with vehicle age and odometer reading. Vehicle make played an important role in roadworthiness outcome, with the performance of different makes varying significantly. Small operators carried the highest risk of failure and large operators the lowest, irrespective of the location of operation. The multilevel analysis revealed that 28.9% of the variation in inspection outcomes occurred across operators and 5.2% across vehicles, which verified the presence of the hierarchical structure. The findings from this study provide safety regulators with solid research evidence to formulate policies aimed at enhancing bus roadworthiness.

Transport and mobility needs for all aged road users are diverse and may change with increasing age. With an increasing ageing population throughout much of the developed world combined with increasing life expectancies, there is a growing need to understand the transportation requirements of older adults. Moreover, while car use is still the most popular form of transport for older adults, alternative transport modes are offered and promoted, and their use is increasing.

Much of the research on transportation and safe mobility focuses on older adult's thoughts and feelings on driving transition in high-income countries, but there is limited knowledge on this process and its consequences in low-and-middle-income countries. Moreover, there is very little understanding of the transition process involving other forms of transport, specifically the motorcycle. This study aimed to understand the process of driving/riding cessation involving former car drivers and former motorcycle riders, including the motivations that act as driving forces influencing the decision to cease driving/riding, challenges faced during the transition, and strategies adopted to adjust to life without driving/riding.