ing County Metro Transit has just launched a new safety campaign designed to reduce the risk of bus/pedestrian accidents, which were up nearly 25 percent in 2004. Nearly half of the 21 such accidents in 2004 involved coaches entering or leaving a bus zone. Many instances involved pedestrians chasing a bus in hopes of boarding it, then slipping or falling in a place invisible to the driver; others occurred when pedestrians walked into the side of a bus.

The new safety campaign, designed to raise awareness among both drivers and pedestrians, includes the placement of large posters on the sides of buses, in places where they will be highly visible to the walking public.