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

COVID-19 Resources and Updates

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) recently announced an extension of the Federal face mask requirement for all transportation networks, including public transportation, through January 18, 2022.

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, FAQs and updated information on the Federal mask requirement.

Upcoming Events and Webinars

Rail Safety Week
September 20–26, 2021

2021 FTA Joint State Safety Oversight and Rail Transit Agency Virtual Workshop
October 19–20, 2021

FTA Announces Fiscal Year 2022 Safety Training

Registration is open for Transportation Safety Institute (TSI) safety training courses for transit personnel. These courses also support FTA grantees subject to the Public Transportation Safety Certification Training Program (PTSCTP) regulation with initial training and refresher training requirements. The Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 TSI Training Schedule is also available. New this FY, all rail PTSCTP courses will be delivered virtually.

The status of in-person TSI courses will depend upon each host’s local guidance. Please contact TSI at TSI@dot.gov or 405-954-3682 for more information. TSI can verify the status of all scheduled courses and assist with any other course-related questions.

Featured Articles

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. June submissions captured data through July 31, 2021 and were due on August 16, 2021.

FTA, FRA and NHTSA Hold Joint Fall Campaign: Stop. Trains Can’t.
September is Rail Safety Month! For a second time this year, FTA joins the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) for the national Stop. Trains Can’t. campaign to help reduce collisions, deaths and injuries at freight and commuter train, and rail transit train crossings. From September 6-27, 2021, please be sure to visit the campaign webpage for complimentary creative materials to help promote this safety message in your system and region.

Operation Lifesaver Hosts 2021 Rail Safety Week
Rail Safety Week (RSW), hosted by Operation Lifesaver, Inc. (OLI) in September each year, helps to raise awareness of rail safety education and empower the public to keep themselves safe near highway-rail grade crossings and railroad rights of way. September 23, 2021 focused on rail transit safety and promoted transit specific safety messages and materials. OLI offers a free digital library of resources to help raise awareness about the importance of rail safety.

Register Now for the 2021 FTA Joint SSO and RTA Virtual Workshop
Registration is open for the 2021 FTA Joint State Safety Oversight (SSO) and Rail Transit Agency (RTA) Virtual Workshop for SSO staff, RTA Chief Safety Officers, Safety Directors and their staff, including contractors. The workshop will once again be hosted virtually— please join us on Tuesday, October 19 and Wednesday, October 20, 2021. This year’s virtual workshop will focus on effective working relationships among SSOs and RTAs, combating cyber threats in the transit industry, current transit safety policy and guidance updates.

FTA Publishes Research on Inward- and Outward-Facing Audio and Video Recordings for Transit Rail Vehicles
FTA recently published a research report, Inward-and Outward-facing Audio and Video Recordings for Transit Rail Vehicles, in response to safety events and a National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation. The NTSB investigated the collision between two SEPTA trains and as a result issued Safety Recommendation R-17-13 related to the installation of crash- and fire-protected inward- and outward-facing audio and image recorders capable of providing recordings to verify train crew actions and train operations. The research report includes a literature review, gap analysis and an industry survey. In addition, the study was supported by industry stakeholder involvement through a working group.

Data Spotlight: Vanpool Events 2015—2019
FTA's data spotlights share safety data trends and highlight data sets that may help the transit industry establish safety performance targets as part of an Agency Safety Plan. This month, we focus on National Transit Database vanpool event reporting for the 2015– 2019 period.

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