APPENDIX A

Interview Question Set

Data and Insights

• Is your department tracking and reporting on substance use on transit (e.g., on board vehicles, within stations and facilities)?
• What is the threshold for reporting substance-use-related incidents/occurrences on transit (e.g., visibility, overdose, Naloxone/Narcan deployment, EMS call for service, death)?
• How is data related to substance use incidents/occurrences collected, analyzed, and utilized/disseminated internally and externally for policy, program development, regulatory reporting requirements, and operational improvements? What reporting tools (e.g., forms, documentation, software) is used for reporting and tracking substance use occurrences?
• Whom do you share your data on substance use occurrence with (e.g., law enforcement, public health, social services, FTA, CDC)?
• Is there training and standardization for in-field reporting for substance use incidents/occurrences? Is your staff familiar with the different types of substances?
• Does your data specify the drug being used per occurrence?

Customer and Staff Perception

• How can staff communicate their feelings and concerns about substance use on transit? What do you know about your staff’s feelings and perceptions on this topic?
• What communication channels are available for customers to report substance use on transit?
• Do your customer engagement tools (e.g., customer satisfaction surveys, incident reporting tools) specifically ask about substance use on transit?
• How have you engaged with your customers on this issue? Have you engaged with individuals who use substances on the transit system?

Operations and Facilities

• What do you feel are staff and customer responsibilities regarding substance use?
• Do you provide harm reduction supplies (e.g., Naloxone, fentanyl test kits) to your staff and on your system for customer use?
• What are your standard operating procedures for addressing substance use on transit?
• How much of a connection do you see between substance use and safety/security incidents (e.g., overdoses, loitering, right-of-way intrusion, unplanned service disruptions, drug dealing/trafficking, customer safety, staff safety, assaults)?
• Is there a connection between substance use and challenges with cleaning, stewardship and maintenance of transit facilities?

• What support have your operational staff asked for specifically related to substance use on transit?
• Have you made changes to your built environment to address substance use concerns on transit?
• Does your transit agency provide publicly accessible restrooms? If so, have you had concerns with substance use and safety in your publicly accessible restrooms?

Occupational Health and Safety

• Who is responsible and accountable (e.g., divisions, roles) for the safety of staff and customers regarding substance use on transit?
• Do you have an OH&S working group addressing substance use on transit?
• What is your agency doing to protect your employees from exposure to substances (e.g., in the form of smoke, surface contamination)?
• What safety protocols are in place for staff when addressing substance use on transit? Has your agency developed and implemented SOPs or exposure control methods to mitigate employee exposures to illicit drug use on transit systems and facilities?
• What methods and tools are you using for tracking incidents of employee exposure to drug use? What are the reporting requirements on employee safety for your internal safety and security programs and for state and federal programs?
• What training and protections (e.g., PPE, upgrading ventilation, cleaning methods) are provided to staff specifically regarding substance use on transit?
• Are there any mental health support services provided to staff who regularly encounter substance use incidents on the transit system?

Outreach

• Do you have a public health and community support-based outreach program dedicated to transit?
• Please describe your public health and community support-based outreach programs dedicated to transit, mainly how they focus on substance use and mental health?
• What characteristics informed the service design of your transit-specific outreach program?
• How are you collecting data on the outreach program? Who owns the data? How do you assess program performance? How do you integrate external health data sources (e.g., emergency room visits, responses by fire department/EMS to drug use or overdose incidents at transit locations) into your program reporting?
• How much discretion does your outreach team have in resolving the individual’s substance use based incident on transit?
• What systems and infrastructure do you rely on with your outreach program?
• If an individual declines support, what other alternatives and tools do you have for incident resolution?
• What are the skill sets and training of your outreach team?
• Do you have targeted staff deployments on the transit system to address substance issues/occurrences? How do you decide to allocate resources (e.g., time of day, location, transit mode, incident data)?

Enforcement

• What is the legal framework regarding the enforcement approach for substance use on transit?
• How do you report and share data on substance use on transit from an enforcement perspective?
• Have transit customers and staff been harmed because of substance use on transit?

• What resources has your organization had to deploy in response to substance use on transit?
• Is there collaboration between transit enforcement and local law enforcement regarding responding to and preventing substance use on transit?
• How do you classify drug offenses on public transit when it comes to police and legal reporting? What are the penalties?
• Do you have targeted staff deployments on the transit system to address substance issues/occurrences? How do you decide to allocate resources (e.g., time of day, location, transit mode, incident data)?

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