Optibus, a software platform for public transportation planning, scheduling, and rostering, announced it is partnering with GreenRoad Technologies to increase passenger safety and comfort by bringing road safety data into ransportation planning.

“Although public transit is one of the safest ways to travel, thousands of passengers, as well as drivers, pedestrians, and occupants of other vehicles, are still injured or killed each year in bus-related crashes. Many of these incidents could be prevented if safety data was used to plan networks that are safer,” said Optibus CEO and co-founder Amos Haggiag. “Partnering with GreenRoad allows us to do just that, by creating the first-ever integrated planning and safety system for public transport providers.”

Optibus and GreenRoad are encouraging operators and agencies to account for safety factors, such as road and ride quality, collisions, injuries, and driver behavior including speeding, sudden acceleration and braking, and sharp turns, at the network planning stage.

Planners can use GreenRoad’s Safety Heat Map on the Optibus platform to visualize and assess the safety score of existing routes within their network. They can also re-plan low-scoring routes to avoid hazard areas and increase safety, assess the impact of rerouting on the entire network, and support local authorities in identifying and fixing road hazards.

The partnership aims to reduce the number of injuries per million miles and produce an improved ride that feels safer to riders, while increasing passenger satisfaction and trust. 

“Early insight into route safety enables operators to reduce risks, save lives, and deliver better services to passengers,” said David Ripstein, GreenRoad Technologies’ CEO. “The combination of GreenRoad’s world-class safety data and telematics and Optibus’ cutting-edge transportation planning software creates a powerful, essential tool for ensuring the safety of mass transit.”