Travelling by bus much safer than car rides: study

Taking the bus is a lot safer than travelling by car, according to a study conducted in Canada which found that car trips were linked to a significantly greater number of injuries.

The study, published in the Journal of Urban Health, looked at the risk of injury along the 10 busiest bus routes in Montreal and showed that the risk is four times greater for car occupants than for bus occupants.

Besides looking at specific routes, the study led by the Universite de Montreal Public Health Research Institute (IRSPUM) in Canada, is the first to compare the effect of car and bus use on the safety of pedestrians and cyclists.

Per kilometre travelled, car trips were associated with a greater number of pedestrian injuries (four times more), cyclist injuries (five times more), and fatal and severe injuries (five times more) compared to bus trips.

There were 28 times more seriously injured people in cars (278 over 10 years, including 19 deaths) than bus occupants (10 seriously injured, no deaths). Forty-two pedestrians and three cyclists were killed by cars, versus four pedestrians and zero cyclists by bus.

Bus travel are safer because drivers are professionally trained, researchers said. They also drive more slowly than cars. Buses travel along designated routes and usual stick to the right lane, which make them more predictable in traffic.

Far fewer buses than cars are needed to transport the same number of people, researchers said.

"The fundamental point is that pedestrians, cyclists and motor-vehicle occupants are mostly injured where the speeds are highest and where there are the most vehicles, on the major arteries," said Patrick Morency, assistant clinical professor at IRSPUM.