46% Rise in Bus Accidents Reported

A 46.6% increase in collisions involving Orange County Transit District buses was reported Monday to district board members, who said they are puzzled about the possible causes.

“Forty-eight (more) accidents is a big difference,” OCTD Chairman William E. Farris said, referring to an increase to 151 collisions in the quarter ending Sept. 30 from the 103 collisions reported in the same three-month period in 1986.

William Foster, OCTD director of transit services, told board memers that he suspected that other vehicles were hitting the buses more often. “Claims filed against the district have not increased,” he said.

The accident data was contained in a quarterly performance report delivered to district board members by James P. Reichert, OCTD general manager.

The report also showed customer complaints per 100,000 passengers declined to 706 from the 833 received in the same three-month period last year.

Also, ridership fell 4.79% to 8,439,589 from nearly 8.9 million in the same 1986 quarter, according to the report. OCTD spokeswoman Joanne Curran attributed lower quarterly ridership to the district’s slow recovery from a bus drivers’ strike, low-cost car loans and the county’s high employment rate.

But it was the accident figures that concerned OCTD officials most.

According to Reichert’s report, collision accidents for the quarter totaled 151, or 3.19 per 100,000 vehicle miles, compared to 103 collisions, or 2.23 per 100,000 vehicle miles, in the same three-month period in 1986.

As a daily average, the accident rate climbed to 1.64 from 1.12 in the same 1986 quarter, according to Curran, who said 35 collision-related claims were filed against the district in each period.

Foster said he will finish preparing a detailed analysis of the collision numbers in a few days.

Generally, “preventable” accidents, those caused by bus driver error, have been declining despite the increase in reported collisions, supporting the theory that buses are being hit more by other vehicles, OCTD officials said.

Injuries were not included in the report, but Curran said 30 car drivers or pedestrians were injured in accidents involving OCTD buses in the 1986-87 fiscal year, compared to 10 so far in 1987-88.

“We’re on the same track (this year),” Curran said.