FTA at South West Transit Association Conference
In early February, Division Chief for Safety Policy and Promotion Jeremy Furrer participated in the South West Transit Association’s Annual Conference and Expo in Tulsa, OK. He discussed the Office of Transit Safety and Oversight’s safety rulemaking activities including implementing Public Transportation Agency Safety Plans.
See the presentation from this event and other FTA conference presentations on FTA’s webpage.
2024 FTA Safety Management System in Practice Workshop Series
FTA will begin a new workshop series, Safety Management System (SMS) in Practice, with the first workshop, Advancing Safety Risk Management and Safety Assurance, spotlighting two critical components in SMS. The workshop will explore common challenges identified during FTA’s Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan Technical Assistance Center inquiries, audits and Agency Safety Plan reviews. It will also feature interactive components such as group discussions and scenario-based exercises, to apply a deeper knowledge of the processes and the required skills to improve safety at their agencies.
FTA will offer two in-person workshops and one virtual workshop. The in-person workshops will be held in Denver, CO from April 17–18, 2024 and Atlanta, GA from May 15–16, 2024. The virtual workshop will be on June 5–6, 2024. Please register early as space is limited to 50 participants due to the interactive format. A waitlist will be provided once the session reaches capacity. If there is a high demand, more virtual workshops may be offered at a later date.
The Notice of Funding Opportunity for the Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) grant program is now open. Established by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the SS4A discretionary program is a $5 billion grant program that supports the development of a comprehensive safety action plan that identifies the most significant roadway safety concerns in a community and the implementation of projects and strategies to address roadway safety issues. The SS4A program supports the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (USDOT) National Roadway Safety Strategy and its goal of zero roadway deaths using the Safe System Approach.
Those eligible to apply for the grant include counties, cities, towns, transit agencies and other political subdivision of a State, metropolitan planning organizations and Federally recognized Tribal governments. The SS4A program provides funding for two types of grants: planning and demonstration grants and implementation grants. Applications have multiple deadlines depending on the grant type.
For more information about the grant and application process, please visit the SS4A Grants webpage.
FTA Publishes Transit Customer Assault Prevention Resources Webpage
To improve transit safety for riders, provide more resources to help prevent and address crime and ensure the continued safety of our nation’s public transit systems, FTA published a new Transit Customer Assault Prevention Resources webpage for transit agencies.
A featured resource of this webpage is the FTA-commissioned research report that explores factors contributing to customer assault events, trends in assault data and mitigations. The report provides a deeper understanding of transit customer assault through interviews with transit agency representatives and was made possible in partnership with the U.S. Department of Transportation Volpe Center (Volpe).
In addition, the webpage provides a summary of data from the National Transit Database regarding assaults on transit customers. This data can support transit agencies in identifying and mitigating safety risks associated with customer assault on transit vehicles and in stations.
Human Trafficking Prevention Resources Available
Human trafficking exploits someone for labor or commercial sexual act through the use of force, fraud or coercion. Traffickers utilize various modes of transportation, but often use public transit as it allows for anonymity.
As part of an FTA-funded crime prevention grant, the Texas Transportation Institute, South West Transit Association and the Community Transportation Association of America partnered in the development of the Safety4Transit website with resources to prevent crime and human trafficking at smaller transit agencies.
Resources on the website include:
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Animated videos — defines human trafficking and outlines how to report it to officials. The videos are available in English, Spanish and Chinese.
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Printable materials and social media posts — includes materials that can be used in public areas, on transit vehicles and in social media regarding how to prevent human trafficking. These materials can be printed as posters, flyers or wallet/pocket cards.
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Training — offers a self-led training that can be completed individually or part of a greater training.
In addition, FTA hosted a webinar on January 24, 2024 that included a discussion of how transit agencies utilized resources from the Safety4Transit website to address human trafficking. The webinar presentation and recording are available to the public.
FTA Publishes De-Escalation Training Resource Directory
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law amended the Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan (PTASP) requirements at 49 U.S.C. § 5329(d), by adding requirements related to de-escalation training. Agencies that:
- are required to have an Agency Safety Plan (ASP) in place under the PTASP regulation (49 CFR Part 673),
- receive 49 U.S.C. Section 5307 funding, and
- serve one or more large urbanized areas (an urbanized area with a population of 200,000 or more)
must ensure that their agency’s comprehensive safety training program includes de-escalation training for maintenance personnel, operations personnel and personnel directly responsible for safety.
To support transit agencies as they manage the ongoing risk related to assaults on transit workers using Safety Management System (SMS) principles and methods, FTA launched a De-Escalation Training Resource Directory. This directory includes publicly available resources from bus transit providers, rail transit providers, State Safety Oversight Agencies, State Departments of Transportation, FTA and various transit trade groups.
Safety training plays an important role in creating safer transit systems across America. The following list summarizes available safety training and resources offered through FTA and its partners:
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