Transit Safety & Oversight (TSO)
What's New
President Biden, USDOT Announce More Than $573 Million in Available Funding from the New Railroad Crossing Elimination Program
On June 30, 2022, the Federal Railroad Administration issued a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) announcing more than $573 million in available grant funding this year alone for the Railroad Crossing Elimination Program. This new competitive discretionary grant program – which will help improve safety, eliminate lengthy delays at railroad crossings in communities across the country and ultimately lower the costs of transporting goods, making them more affordable for American families – was created by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
Special Directives to the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority and the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities
To improve safety for the Greater Boston Area’s rail transit system, FTA issued a series of special directives to the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) and the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities (DPU), the state agency responsible for safety oversight of the MBTA’s rail transit operations.
- FTA Special Directive 22-4
- FTA Special Directive 22-5
- FTA Special Directive 22-6
- FTA Special Directive 22-7
- FTA Special Directive 22-8
Overview
FTA administers a national transit safety program and compliance oversight process to advance safe, reliable, and equitable transit service throughout the U.S. FTA's TSO Office helps make transit safer through policy development, hazard investigation, data collection, risk analysis, oversight programs and information sharing.
Agency Safety Plan (ASP) Directory
FTA published an Agency Safety Plan (ASP) Directory as part of the Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan (PTASP) Technical Assistance Center (TAC) Resource Library. Transit agencies can use these publicly available ASPs as a resource to help with their own ASP.
TSO Spotlight Newsletter
- TSO Spotlight July 2022 Issue
- Subscribe to the TSO Spotlight Newsletter
Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan Technical Assistance Center (PTASP TAC)
- Register for The Safety Risk Register in Action webinar on Wednesday, July 27, 2022 at 2:00 pm ET. This webinar will demonstrate practices for and provide examples of using safety risk registers to track hazards and mitigations.
- PTASP TAC Update: June 2022
- Access all PTASP webinars.
- Subscribe to PTASP updates.
Mental Health Resources for the Transit Industry
- FTA published Mental Health Resources to support the transit industry as we continue to overcome the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Cybersecurity Resources for Transit Agencies
- FTA published Cybersecurity Resources to support transit agencies during a time of unprecedented ransomware attacks targeting the transportation sector.
Federal Mask Requirement for Public Transportation
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As a result of a court order, effective April 18, 2022, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) January 29, 2021 Order requiring masks on public transportation conveyances and at transportation hubs is no longer in effect. Therefore, CDC will not enforce the Order. CDC continues to recommend that people wear masks in indoor public transportation settings at this time. In addition, effective immediately, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) will not enforce its mask-related Security Directives. TSA is also withdrawing its Security Directive 1582/84-21-01E, which was issued on April 15, 2022, and was scheduled to take effect on April 19, 2022.
Bipartisan Infrastructure Law
- FTA published a Dear Colleague Letter to inform the transit industry about Bipartisan Infrastructure Law changes to Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan (PTASP) requirements. The new requirements apply to transit agencies with an Agency Safety Plan (ASP) in place under the PTASP regulation (49 CFR Part 673). FTA encourages transit agencies to review their ASP to determine if it meets these requirements.
- Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Changes to Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan (PTASP) Requirements Webinar
Presentation | Recording | Transcript
- Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Changes to Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan (PTASP) Requirements Webinar
- Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan FAQs for New Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Requirements
- Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Disposition Requirements FAQs
Transit Advisory Committee for Safety
Presentations & Webinars
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The upcoming courses below support the FTA Enhanced Transit Safety and Crime Prevention Initiative and provide information and resources to help prevent assaults and violence in transit systems. To participate in these free courses, complete the quick self-registration. Contact the National Transit Institute (NTI) at 848-932-1700 or nti_info@nti.rutgers.edu for course registration. For questions about FTA safety training offerings, contact FTASafetyPromotion@dot.gov.
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Assault Awareness and Prevention Video Resource: Provides access to the Assault Awareness and Prevention course in a video format (Available 24/7).
- Assault Awareness and Prevention Train-the-Trainer Course: Provides transit agencies’ instructional staff with the necessary support to deliver the course within their agencies.
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Violence in the Transit Workplace Video Resource: Provides transit agencies’ staff with access to the Violence in the Transit Workplace–Prevention, Response and Recovery course in a video format (Available 24/7).
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Violence in the Transit Workplace Train-the-Trainer Course: Provides transit agencies’ instructional staff with the support necessary to deliver the course within their agencies.
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- Access all of the TSO public presentations.
Additional Resources
- Cybersecurity Resources
- Mental Health Resources for Transit Workers
- Enhanced Transit Safety and Crime Prevention Initiative