June 2021

The Federal Transit Administration’s Transit Safety and Oversight Spotlight is a monthly newsletter about safety and oversight topics, events, training and guidance that affect the public transportation industry.

Read the June 2021 issue, share the newsletter with colleagues and send comments to FTASafetyStakeholder@dot.gov.

COVID-19 Resources and Updates

On June 10, 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that it will amend its Face Mask Order to not require people to wear a mask in outdoor areas of conveyances or while outdoors at transportation hubs and will no longer enforce this requirement until it can amend its Order.

COVID-19 Recovery Practices in Transit—Provides web links to practices implemented by transit systems worldwide in response to COVID-19, updated monthly.

COVID-19 Resource Tool—A compilation of Federal COVID-19 guidance and recommendations, updated weekly.

FAQs from FTA Grantees Regarding COVID-19—Provides answers to frequently asked questions regarding COVID-19 relief funding and other requirements.

Federal Mask Requirement for Transit—Provides links to resources, stakeholder call materials and updated information on the Federal mask requirement. CDC continues to recommend wearing of masks in these areas by people who are not fully vaccinated.

Mask Requirement FAQs—Provides answers to frequently asked questions on the Federal mask requirement regarding applicability, enforcement, implementation, exemptions and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Upcoming Events and Webinars

PTASP Webinar: Implementing Safety Risk Assessment Approaches
June 30, 2021 | 2:00 pm–3:30 pm ET

PTASP Webinar: Safety Event Investigation in an SMS
July 28, 2021 | 2:00 pm–3:30 pm ET

Upcoming Safety Training

USDOT’s Transportation Safety Institute (TSI) is increasing its delivery of virtual classes by adding more course delivery dates and offering Safety Management Systems (SMS) Principles for Transit as a virtual course. The Fiscal Year 2021 training schedule is available on FTA's website.

Featured Articles

Farewell from FTA’s Associate Administrator for Transit Safety and Oversight & Chief Safety Officer, Henrika Buchannan
June will be Henrika’s last month at the FTA. Read the full article for a summary of FTA leadership highlights.

FTA Transit COVID-19 Response Program Information Collection Update
The FTA Transit COVID-19 Response Program Information Collection captures COVID-19 related data monthly from over 2,100 transit providers. April submissions captured data through April 30, 2021 and were due on May 17, 2021. Read the full article for a summary of the key takeaways as of April 30, 2021.

Transit Agencies Support COVID-19 Vaccination Efforts
Transit agencies continue to work with public health agencies to support COVID-19 vaccination efforts in their communities. Read the full article for examples of transit’s role in vaccination efforts across the country.

Now Available: CDC How to Build Transit Workers' Confidence in COVID-19 Vaccines Guide
FTA, in coordination with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), published the CDC How to Build Transit Workers' Confidence in COVID-19 Vaccines Guide. The guide provides six steps to building vaccine confidence among personnel, vaccine communication and confidence checklist and vaccine confidence conversation starter for transit agencies. The ultimate goal is to increase transit workers’ confidence in and uptake of COVID-19 vaccines.

15th Annual FTA Drug and Alcohol Program National Conference Recap
FTA hosted its 15th Annual Drug and Alcohol Program National Conference last month. The four-day virtual conference was attended by over 2,000 Drug and Alcohol Program Managers and other transit industry professionals. Please visit the FTA Drug and Alcohol Program webpage for links to the presentation slides, as well as a list of other upcoming drug and alcohol program training events.

FTA Employee Spotlight: Tony Cho
Each month we highlight an FTA Safety and Oversight Employee, so you can learn more about what we do and who we are.