The Public Transportation Agency Safety Plans (PTASP) regulation (49 CFR Part 673) requires operators of public transportation systems that receive federal funds under the FTA Urbanized Area Formula Grants (Section 5307), and rail transit agencies subject to the FTA State Safety Oversight (SSO) program, to develop an Agency Safety Plan (ASP) that includes the processes and procedures to implement a Safety Management System (SMS). SMS is a comprehensive, collaborative, and systematic approach to managing safety.

Technical Assistance

The PTASP Technical Assistance Center (TAC) is available to help the transit industry meet PTASP requirements.

• PTASP FAQ – Start here for answers to your questions
• Resource Library - Technical assistance tools for PTASP
• Email PTASP-TAC@dot.gov for 1-1 assistance
• Sign up to get notified about PTASP webinars and technical assistance updates

What's New

Responses to General Directive 24-1: Required Actions Regarding Assaults on Transit Workers

On January 16, 2025, FTA published Responses to General Directive 24-1: Required Actions Regarding Assaults on Transit Workers. FTA's initial analysis of agency responses shows more than two-thirds of transit agencies determined that safety risk mitigations are necessary to reduce the risk of assaults on transit workers, and these agencies are working to roll out a variety of mitigation measures.

2024–2025 Virtual Safety Risk Management and Safety Assurance Workshop 

New Sessions of SMS in Practice: Advancing Safety Risk Management and Safety Assurance workshops are open for registration. FTA’s popular SMS in Practice: Advancing Safety Risk Management and Safety assurance workshops have returned. FTA has scheduled three additional virtual sessions.   

The workshop explores common challenges identified during FTA technical assistance center inquiries, audits, and Agency Safety Plan reviews, including: 

• Identifying hazards, consequences, and risks 
• Distinguishing causal factors critical to determining safety mitigations  
• Prioritizing risks through in-depth analysis  
• Monitoring the effectiveness of safety mitigations 

Recording Available: Updates to the PTASP Regulation and National Safety Plan Webinar

FTA published the first major update to the Public Transportation Agency Safety Plans (PTASP) regulation, which incorporates Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) requirements to make transit safer for both transit workers and passengers. Concurrently, FTA published updates to the National Public Transportation Safety Plan (National Safety Plan), which is FTA’s primary guidance document to improve transit safety performance for systems that receive FTA funding. The webinar provided an overview of key changes to the PTASP regulation and the National Safety Plan, explained how PTASP requirements and the National Safety Plan correspond to each other and answered pre-submitted questions.

Updates to the PTASP Regulation and National Safety Plan Webinar
August 13, 2024 | Presentation | Recording

Public Transportation Agency Safety Plans and National Public Transportation Safety Plan Updates

In April 2024, FTA published the first major update to the Public Transportation Agency Safety Plans (PTASP) regulation. These updates are a part of a continuing effort to improve transit safety performance on federally supported transit systems, and PTASP is the first rule finalized by FTA under IIJA requirements to make transit safer for both transit workers and passengers.

• Federal Register Notice (PDF Download) – Read the final rule and FTA’s response to comments
• Markup: Changes to 49 CFR 673 – See the line-by-line changes to the PTASP rule text 
• Markup: Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act changes to 49 U.S.C § 5329(d) – See the line-by-line changes to PTASP statutory requirements 

It incorporates Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act requirements, such as:

• advancing safety management system (SMS) processes, 
• increasing frontline transit worker involvement, 
• expanding de-escalation training, and 
• addressing safety risk, including assaults on transit workers, transit vehicle-pedestrian collisions, and infectious disease exposure. 

FTA also published an update to the National Public Transportation Safety Plan as well as a response to comments in the Federal Register. The plan serves as FTA’s primary guidance document to improve transit safety performance. FTA updated the plan to align with Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act requirements and to include best practices, tools, technical assistance, voluntary standards and other resources.

• View the National Public Transportation Safety Plan

Key Milestones

• 2024: FTA issued General Directive 24-1: Required Actions Regarding Assaults on Transit Workers requiring each transit agency subject to FTA's PTASP regulation to conduct a safety risk assessment, identify safety risk mitigations or strategies and provide information to FTA on how it is assessing, mitigating and monitoring the safety risk associated with assaults on transit workers.
• 2024: FTA published the first major update to the Public Transportation Agency Safety Plans (PTASP) regulation
• 2023: FTA issued for public comment a proposed General Directive: Required Actions Regarding Assaults on Transit Workers that would require each transit agency subject to the PTASP regulation to conduct a safety risk assessment, identify safety risk mitigations or strategies and provide information to FTA on how it is assessing, mitigating and monitoring the safety risk associated with assaults on transit workers.
• 2023: FTA published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) with proposed changes to PTASP
• 2022: FTA issued Special Directives: Required Actions Regarding Transit Worker Assault to nine transit agencies that reported 79% of all assaults on transit workers to the National Transit Database (NTD) between 2016 and 2021. The Special Directives required the agencies to provide information to FTA on how they are addressing the risk related to assaults on transit workers using SMS processes. 
• 2022: FTA published a Dear Colleague Letter to inform the transit industry about Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act changes to PTASP requirements at 49 U.S.C. 5329(d).
• 2021: 100% of applicable transit agencies certified that they have an Agency Safety Plan (ASP) in place to keep riders and transit workers safe on their transit systems
• 2019: The PTASP regulation became effective
• 2018: FTA published the PTASP Final Rule
• 2016: FTA published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) for Public Transportation Agency Safety Plans (PTASP)