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U.S. Department of Transportation U.S. Department of Transportation Icon United States Department of Transportation United States Department of Transportation

Public Transportation Agency Safety Plans

100 Percent of Applicable Transit Agencies and States Now Have Public Transportation Agency Safety Plans

More than 700 transit agencies around the United States have certified that they now have safety plans to help keep riders and employees safe on their transit systems. The safety plans were required to be completed by July 20th, 2021.

A New Era of Safety (video)

This two-minute video highlights the PTASP rule and how two transit agencies are implementing it

Frequently Asked Questions

FTA developed answers to both basic and more sophisticated questions about the PTASP rule. Check here to see if your question has already been answered.

Welcome to the Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan (PTASP) Technical Assistance Center (TAC). We are here to help you meet PTASP regulation requirements.

Overview

On July 19, 2018, FTA published the Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan (PTASP) Final Rule, which requires certain operators of public transportation systems that receive federal funds under FTA's Urbanized Area Formula Grants to develop safety plans that include the processes and procedures to implement Safety Management Systems (SMS).  

  • The PTASP rule became effective on July 19, 2019.
  • FTA published a Notice of Enforcement Discretion on April 22, 2020 effectively extending the PTASP compliance deadline from July 20, 2020 to December 31, 2020.
  • FTA published a second Notice of Enforcement Discretion on December 11, 2020 effectively extending the PTASP compliance deadline to July 20, 2021.

The plan must include safety performance targets. Find additional guidance on planning and target setting on FTA's Performance-Based Planning pages. Transit operators also must certify they have a safety plan in place meeting the requirements of the rule by July 20, 2021. The plan must be updated and certified by the transit agency annually.

The rule applies to all operators of public transportation systems that are recipients and sub-recipients of federal financial assistance under the Urbanized Area Formula Program (49 U.S.C. § 5307). However, FTA is deferring applicability of this requirement for operators that only receive funds through FTA’s Enhanced Mobility of Seniors and Individuals with Disabilities Formula Program (Section 5310) and/or Rural Area Formula Program (Section 5311).

The rule does not apply to agencies that are subject to the safety jurisdiction of another federal agency, including passenger ferry operators regulated by the U.S. Coast Guard and rail operators regulated by the Federal Railroad Administration.

Bipartisan Infrastructure Law

 

Questions?

PTASP Technical Assistance Center

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Learn More About the TAC

How can we help answer questions, review agency safety plans, provide onsite trainings and support, and submit documents to share with peers?

Please direct all PTASP and SMS questions to FTA’s PTASP-TAC e-mail address.

Sign up for PTASP updates

To receive PTASP-related emails, enter your email address and select Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan (PTASP).