NTD Reporting - Frequently Asked Questions
This page covers frequently asked questions about NTD reporting, NTD data products, and the use of NTD data.
- Did FTA use the same data in FFY 2022 and 2023 formula apportionments?
- What is the most recent month of Monthly Ridership data available?
- Is there a list of current FTA Transit Agencies and Direct Recipients?
- What is the difference between the Monthly Raw Data Release and the Monthly Module Adjusted Data Release?
- Why can’t I find this month’s Safety and Security Data?
- Does the NTD support any application programming interfaces (APIs) for filing and completing report?
- Does the NTD collect estimated data?
- How do I login to the NTD online reporting application?
- Where can I find financial and service data for easy cost/service analysis?
- Which bus modes are considered Fixed Route?
- Where can I see project level details (e.g., transit projects funded with ARP funding)?
Did FTA use the same data in FFY 2022 and 2023 formula apportionments?
The FFY 2022 and 2023 formula apportionments (e.g., Urbanized Area Formula Funding Program, Formula Grants for Rural Areas) used Report Year 2019 NTD data for some agencies across both years. More detail on why this occurred and the procedure FTA used can be found here.
What is the most recent month of Monthly Ridership data available?
Monthly ridership data is published on a two-month lag due to submission due dates and validation. Please visit the NTD Data page for the most recent Monthly Ridership data products.
Is there a list of current FTA Transit Agencies and Direct Recipients?
The NTD currently does not identify which NTD reporters are Direct vs Sub-Recipients. However, a list of current public NTD Reporters can be found in the NTD Agency Information Database file.
The Monthly Raw Data Release contains monthly-updated service information reported by urban Full Reporters, released before adjustments. The Monthly Module Adjusted Data Release Contains monthly-updated service information reported by urban Full Reporters, released after adjustments. For instance, the adjusted data release includes estimates for missing UPT and VRM data in the two most recent report years. Estimates are calculated based on the monthly modal growth rates from an industry-wide sample of transit agencies. Any data value that appears in the adjusted data release that does not appear in the Raw Database Time Series is based on a growth estimate developed by FTA. The strength of each estimate improves when the population of agencies reporting in the prior period is larger.
Why can’t I find this month’s Safety and Security Data?
Safety and Security data are published several months after the initial collection. This allows for validation and review of each report. The most recent month’s data can be found on the NTD Data page of the NTD website, which is typically four months after collection.
Does the NTD support any application programming interfaces (APIs) for filing and completing report?
No. The NTD does not currently support any APIs to file and complete reports. FTA appreciates feedback and input regarding this topic, however at this time, there is no data collection API in lieu of interacting with the NTD Reporting System.
Does the NTD collect estimated data?
All agencies must report accurate and truthful service data in a uniform manner. FTA mandates that almost all service data be collected and recorded daily so that the data are 100 percent accurate. For example, agencies must collect and record 100 percent of all miles and hours vehicles travel in revenue service. FTA does not allow agencies to estimate these data. However, FTA recognizes that certain statistics are challenging to collect and can drastically increase the reporting burden for transit agencies. To assist reporters who would find conducting 100 percent count burdensome, transit agencies may estimate Unlinked Passenger Trips (UPT) and PMT through sampling.
How do I login to the NTD online reporting application?
Beginning in 2021, there is a new login process that uses login.gov for all FTA TriAD applications, which include the NTD. To login, please consult the guidance on this page. If this is your first time setting up an account with login.gov, please consult the same presentation. There is also a quick setup guide on this page.
Where can I find financial and service data for easy cost/service analysis?
The “Metrics” Data Table includes metrics describing service consumption and service cost for each public transportation agency, by mode and type of service.
Which bus modes are considered Fixed Route?
Motor Bus (MB), Commuter Bus (CB), Bus Rapid Transit (RB), Jitney (JT), and Publico (PB). All Rail modes and Ferry Boat (FB) are also considered fixed route services.
Where can I see project level details (e.g., transit projects funded with ARP funding)?
The NTD does not collect project level details. Instead, the NTD collects aggregate transit statistics about system totals (e.g., all project funding expenses accrued in a given year for all projects).
Additional FAQs by Section
- NTD Reporting System Access and Common Actions
- Basic Information Reporting
- Service Data Reporting
- Asset Inventory Data Reporting
- Declarations
- Federal Funding Allocation Data Reporting
- Financial Data Reporting
- Safety and Security Data Reporting
- Data Products
NTD Reporting System Access and Common Actions
- How do I reset my password?
- How will I receive announcements about NTD reporting?
- What is the Report Year Kick Off (RYKO)?
- When is my Annual Report due?
- How do I submit the Annual Report?
- Do I have to complete all forms and respond to issues right away in order to save my work?
- How can I view issues with my report?
- How can I address the data validation issues?
- What do data issue statuses mean?
- How do I export data/templates from an NTD report?
- How do I import data into the report?
- Are there standard external templates that the FTA requires agencies to use to manage NTD data collection?
- How do I know the Annual Report is ready to submit?
- How can I request a waiver from Annual NTD Reporting?
- How do I change my user role and/or someone else's user role in the system?
- How does my agency add new users to the system?
- How do I apply for an extension for my Annual Report?
- I am able to log in but I can't access anything. What should I do?
- How can I view/print a prior year's reports?
- As a State reporter, how can I print my entire report?
- Can the NTD provide a list of FTA designated recipients?
- What are the record retention requirements for NTD source data?
If you have forgotten your password, reset by following the instructions on this page. If you know your password and wish to update it, please follow the instructions on this page.
How will I receive announcements about NTD reporting?
The NTD Operations Team will send out an email when there is an important announcement. It is important that your username is a valid address that you can access for emails. You can also view the announcement message by navigating to the “Announcement” section on the right-hand side of the Home page. Finally, the message will be stored in the E-File Library within your Agency's NTD Profile.
What is the Report Year Kick Off (RYKO)?
The Report Year Kick Off (RYKO) is a task within the NTD reporting tool generated on the first day of the agency's new fiscal year. The agency should complete the task within the first month of the new fiscal year to generate the Annual Report Package for the fiscal year completed most recently and the monthly reports (Full Reporters only) for the upcoming fiscal year. The kickoff task is assigned to the CEO, CEO Delegate (if applicable), and NTD Contact users; however, once one user initiates the kickoff, it will no longer appear in the other user’s task list. During the RYKO, you will confirm your agency’s users, modes, reporter type, and Transit Asset Management (TAM) Sponsor.
FTA determines each agency’s NTD report due date based on the agency’s fiscal year end date. Reporters submit their Annual Report four months after their fiscal year ends.
How do I submit the Annual Report?
Only the users with CEO or CEO Delegate roles can submit the Original Submission of the Annual Report. The NTD Contact can submit all subsequent revisions. If you are unsure of your user role, please contact your transit agency's assigned user manager.
To submit the report, log in and select:
- The current Report Year package
- Submit Annual Report Package (top right)
- Proceed and Continue through the process until you see a notification, "Action Completed Successfully".
Note: Saving the D-10 CEO Certification form is not how you submit the report.
Do I have to complete all forms and respond to issues right away in order to save my work?
No. If you want to enter a part of a report form and come back to it later, click the “Save” button. When the form is complete and ready for review, the “Save and Validate” button (at the bottom of the report) applies the rules of validation to all data entered in the form. Select this option every time you revise data after completing the forms to avoid encountering any issues upon submitting your report.
How Can I View Issues with my Report?
After clicking the “Save and Validate” button, click “View Issues” at the bottom of the form. This page displays all validation issues and allows you to respond accordingly, either by revising the data or providing explanations. After addressing all validation items, you will be able to submit the report for review based, on your user role. Additionally, you have the option to filter issues (as depicted). To review an issue, click on the row with the issue and it will highlight in blue. The validation issues details will appear below.
You can also view all issues from all forms at once by navigating to the Report Package and clicking "View Issues" in the top right corner.
How Can I Address the Data Validation Issues?
If there is an obvious error, the issue will be identified as "Critical", meaning it must be resolved by the time the report is submitted. When this happens, navigate back to the appropriate form and revise the incorrect values. After making your change(s), select the “Save and Validate” button again. If the error is correctly addressed, the item will be newly listed as “Closed with Data Revision” on the “View Issues” page. (This status is automatically updated and does not require analyst approval.)
However, an issue raised on your report does not always indicate an error in the data itself. Data Validation issues that are marked "Important" only require explanation. If you have reviewed and have confirmed that there is no data error, please add this explanation in the comments section. FTA will review these comments with each report submission and close issues accordingly. When you do this, the issue is considered “Open with Explanation” until the issue is closed.
What Do Data Issue Statuses Mean?
Data Validation is considered “Open” until addressed. Once an Open issue is addressed with a comment, it will be marked either “Open with Explanation,” or “Open and Escalated”. If you make a revision to the report or if the issue is reviewed by FTA and closed, it will appear as “Closed with Data Revision" or "Closed", respectively.
All open validation items must be addressed for FTA to issue a Closeout Letter without Issues for your annual report. Issues that are not addressed may result in marking data as Questionable in the report and will appear as an issue in the Closeout Letter.
If there are issues that are open and do not close with data revision, please make sure to add a note in the comment section explaining what changes you made to the data to address the issue.
How Do I Export Data from an NTD Report?
To export data from a form, navigate to an annual report form, scroll to bottom and click “Export Data.” A downloadable excel version of the form will populate. Click on the file to open it and begin entering data into the export template.
Once the sheet has downloaded, you can enter or edit existing data in the form. The sheet is protected and will not allow tabs to be hidden, deleted, or altered. When the form is complete, save the file. Then, navigate back to the form and click “Import Data.”
How Do I Import Data into the Report?
To import data, click the “Upload” button and select the Excel document you want to upload, then click “Submit.” Then click the “Refresh” button until the system accepts the file. If there were any problems uploading the file, the system will display an error message. Simply resolve any errors in the document and re-upload the file, as applicable. Once the file is accepted, click the “Back” button and verify that all changes were updated. Then click “Save and Validate.”
The import and export functions can be used to respond to validation. To respond to validation in excel format, navigate to the validation issues dashboard either on the individual form or from the package summary page and follow the same steps as above to export the excel sheet.
Respond to validation issues directly in the excel sheet, save the file, and then use the import data button to add your responses in the reporting system. Be sure to review the validation issues in the system after import to ensure that all are addressed.
Agencies are responsible to process their own data for submission into the NTD. Agencies and contractors supporting data collection are free to produce their own resources to collect the required data that is submitted to NTD. FTA does provide a resource to NTD application users to import data via the reporting application (see “How to I Import/Export Data from an NTD Report?”). However only 17 forms have this functionality as of 2023, forms may change year to year, and forms must be downloaded after users authenticate within the NTD Appian website.
How do I change my user role and/or someone else's user role in the system?
There are two ways to change roles:
1) Navigate to the "User Management" portal using the drop-down menu to the left of the profile icon in the right-hand corner> Search User > Select User Profile > Related Actions > Manage User Roles, and make the necessary changes.
2) Navigate to the Agency Profile from the Home tab of the NTD portal > Related Actions > View & Manage Reporter Users (P-30) > Select the last name of the person you want to edit and navigate to Manage User Roles.
Note: Only an agency User Manager (UM) can modify user roles.
Note: You must remove any previous roles before adding a new role, and you cannot change your own role.
How can I add new users to the system?
Your agency's User Manager(s) can add new users to the system. To do this, the User Manager (UM) navigates to the "User Management" portal using the drop-down menu to the left of the profile icon in the right-hand corner, then selects Create New User.
If your User Managers(s) are no longer with your agency, your agency's CEO can fill out the User Manager (UM) Designation Template to identify new users to fill that role. Your Validation Analyst can provide the template and will make the changes in the system after receiving the completed form.
How do I apply for an extension for my Annual Report?
Per the NTD Policy Manual, FTA may approve 30-day extensions for extenuating circumstances such as medical leave, natural disasters, and incomplete audits.
To submit an extension, the CEO or CEO Delegate must log in and select:
- The current Report Year package
- Related Actions (under the heading)
- Create Reporter Request
Once on the "Reporter Request" screen, select "Extension Request" from the "Request Type" drop-down menu, then explain why you are unable to meet the deadline in the explanation field.
I am able to log in but I can't access anything. What should I do?
Your account is locked. After logging in, you will be prompted with a screen shown below prompting you to unlock your account.
After clicking on that button, you can unlock your account by answering your account security questions or requesting your agency User Manager to unlock the account. Pages 61-66 of the FTA FACES User Guide found here depicts how an account becomes locked, the steps to self-unlock, as well as the steps for how a locked user may submit a request for unlock.
How can I view/print a prior year's reports?
There are two ways to view or print your reports: (1) by individual form, or (2) by the entire report all at once.
(1) To view or print each form individually:
- Navigate to the Agency Profile from the Home tab.
- Click on Form Library (under the heading).
- Select the closeout version from the "Report Package" drop-down menu.
- From there you can click on each form individually to view or print.
(2) To view or print the entire report all at once:
- Navigate to the Agency Profile from the Home tab.
- Click on Related Actions (under the heading).
- Select Print Annual Package.
- Select the closeout version from the "Report Package" drop-down menu.
- Click the Print button.
It will take a few minutes to generate the HTML link that will allow you to view and print the report. After 20-30 seconds, click the "Refresh" button to return to the previous page (you may have to click on it more than once). When the site returns you to the previous page, you will see an HTML link right below the "Print Annual Forms" heading. This link will allow you to view or print the report in its entirety.
This process works for any version (revision) of the report.
As a State reporter, how can I print my entire report?
Navigate to the State’s Profile, click "Related Actions", then select "Print Multiple Annual State Packages."
Use the Package Year drop-down to select which package you want to download.
If you wish to print the forms for all subrecipients, click to check the box at the bottom that says "Select All Sub-Recipients." You can also use the check boxes in the main table to select specific subrecipients or groups of subrecipients. After selecting the subrecipients you want printed, you will click "Submit."