The U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has issued the Public Transportation Safety Program final rule, establishing procedural rules for FTA to administer a program to improve the safety of federally funded public transportation systems.
This final rule is the umbrella rule for all FTA safety rulemakings and guidance documents, and formally adopts the Safety Management Systems (SMS) approach to safety as the basis of the FTA Safety Program. The final rule will become effective 30 days from the official Federal Register publication date of August 11, 2016.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx stated, “The safety of passengers and employees must be the top priority. This final rule puts in place the essential foundation for FTA to help further improve safety for the millions of daily transit users and for those who operate and maintain the systems.”
This final rule sets procedural rules for FTA to issue directives and advisories to the public transportation industry and to promulgate future safety regulations. It also lays out the rules of practice for FTA to inspect, investigate, audit, examine and test transit agencies’ facilities, equipment, rolling stock and operations.
The final rule also details FTA enforcement actions against transit agencies for noncompliance with Federal transit safety law, including:
- requiring more frequent oversight or reporting requirements;
- mandating that Federal funds be spent to correct safety deficiencies before funds are spent on other projects;
- withholding up to 25 percent of a grantee’s funding under the Urbanized Area Formula Program; and
- imposing restrictions or prohibitions on a transit agency’s operations if FTA determines that an unsafe practice or condition creates a substantial risk of death or personal injury.