HARSCO lands SEPTA bus-safety contract

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Cumberland County-based Harsco Corp. will furnish its “Safe Turn Alert” pedestrian warning system to the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA).

The warning system was developed by the company’s Protran Technology unit, which is part of the Harsco Rail division.

Under the terms of the order, which were not disclosed, the system will be installed in all of SEPTA’s 1,075 buses starting this summer.

According to the Amalgamated Transit Union, the largest union representing transit workers in North America, roughly one pedestrian per week is killed by a transit bus in the United States.

“With this award, SEPTA, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, continues its push to become the safest transit agency in the country,” said Peter Bartek, Protran’s vice president of business development. “We are committed to helping them reach that goal.”

SEPTA, which operates the nation’s fifth-largest transit system, serves the greater Philadelphia region with a network of bus, commuter rail, subway and trolley lines.

How it works

Protran’s system is designed to keep pedestrians from stepping off the curb whenever an approaching bus is about to turn the corner.

People in the street will hear an audible warning message, while flashing LED strobe lights on the buses will be activated by the operator’s turn signal and by sensors next to the vehicle’s steering gear.

The system can also allow upgrades for additional blind-spot protection beyond conventional mirrors, Protran officials said.

This is not SEPTA’s first foray into Protran technology. Last year, the transit agency selected Protran’s Roadway Worker Protection system for rail operations. The system uses a combination of audio and visual warnings to alert train operators and railroad track workers when they are near each other along the line.

Protran was acquired by Harsco in 2015.

“The addition of the Protran Technology business has become a valuable component of our Harsco Rail brand,” said Jim Resio, Harsco Rail’s director of Protran Technology.