Transit Safety & Oversight (TSO)

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.

New Updates

FTA TSO Office Open Positions

FTA TSO Office of System Safety (TSO-10)

• Program Analyst, Safety Promotion—Closes 5/26—Safety Training and Instructional Design
  • Telework eligible. Locations: Washington, DC; Atlanta, GA; Chicago, IL; Cambridge, MA; Kansas City, MO; New York, NY; Philadelphia, PA; or Fort Worth, TX
• Senior Operations Research Analyst (Data Scientist)—Closes 6/2
  • Telework eligible. Locations: San Francisco, CA; Denver, CO; Washington, DC; Atlanta, GA; Chicago, IL; Cambridge, MA; Kansas City, MO; New York, NY; Philadelphia, PA; Fort Worth, TX; and Seattle, WA  

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.

FTA Special Directive 22-1

• FTA issued Special Directive 22-1 requiring the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) to address required actions, Corrective Actions, and concerns identified through allegations of noncompliance brought to GDOT and FTA regarding the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority's implementation of its Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan and GDOT's oversight capabilities.

Federal Mask Requirement for Public Transportation

• 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(CDC) January 29, 2021 Order requiring masks on public transportation conveyances and at transportation hubs is no longer in effect.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
• Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan FAQs for New Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Requirements
• Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Disposition Requirements FAQs

Transit Advisory Committee for Safety

• Transit Advisory Committee for Safety (TRACS)

TSO Spotlight Newsletter

• TSO Spotlight May 2022 Issue
• Subscribe to the TSO Spotlight Newsletter

Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan Technical Assistance Center (PTASP TAC)

• Register for the Developing and Monitoring Safety Risk Mitigations webinar on Thursday, May 26, 2022 at 2:00 pm ET. This webinar will review practices for developing and documenting mitigations to address the results of safety risk assessment and provide examples of mitigations and monitoring plans developed to reduce safety risk at differently sized transit agencies.
• 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: April 2022
• Access all PTASP webinars.
• Subscribe to PTASP updates.

Presentations & Webinars

• 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.

  • 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.

  • 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).

  • 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.

• Access all of the TSO public presentations.

Additional Resources

• Cybersecurity Resources
• Mental Health Resources for Transit Workers
• Enhanced Transit Safety and Crime Prevention Initiative

COVID-19 Information

• FTA COVID-19 Hub
  • Transit COVID-19 Response Program Information Collection
  • COVID-19 Recovery Practices in Transit
  • Frequently Asked Questions from FTA Grantees Regarding COVID-19
  • COVID-19 Resource Tool

TSO Office Information

• TSO Organization Structure
  • TSO Leadership
    • Office of System Safety
    • Office of Safety Review
    • Office of Program Oversight
• FTA Regions
• Learn more about the FTA WMATA Safety Oversight