The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) issued a Final Rule amending 49 C.F.R. Part 673, which governs Public Transportation Agency Safety Plans (PTASPs), on April 11, 2024. The Final Rule implements changes to safety planning required by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. FTA has adopted the new regulations with limited substantive changes since it issued its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), notably eliminating independent requirements regarding a proposed safety risk reduction program and clarifying certain procedures involving the new Safety Committee and the Accountable Executive.
The most novel change to Part 673 is the addition of two new sections intended to foster cooperation between labor and management in safety planning. The provisions set out different requirements for agencies depending on whether they serve large urbanized areas. Agencies serving smaller areas must develop their PTASPs in cooperation with frontline transit worker representatives and describe that cooperation in their PTASPs. Agencies serving large areas are required to convene a body made up of an equal number of representatives of frontline transit workers (selected by unions where they exist) and management: a Safety Committee.
The Safety Committee’s role is partially, but not fully, advisory. The Committee is responsible for reviewing and approving the PTASP, setting annual safety performance targets, identifying safety deficiencies, and identifying risk-based mitigations that the agency should implement or that may be ineffective, inappropriate, or not implemented as intended. If the Committee recommends a safety risk mitigation and the agency’s Accountable Executive—defined in the Final Rule as the single person with the ultimate responsibility for carrying out the PTASP—decides not to implement the mitigation, the Accountable Executive must prepare a written statement explaining their decision and present it to the Safety Committee and the agency’s Board of Directors.
The Final Rule also revises the requirements for PTASPs in large urbanized areas, in part to accommodate the new Safety Committee regulations. Such PTASPs must include what are effectively bylaws for the Safety Committee, such as procedures for developing meeting agendas and accessing technical experts. The Final Rule also adds a requirement that PTASPs include a safety risk reduction program for transit operations that addresses vehicular and pedestrian safety events involving transit vehicles and assaults on transit workers—both of which are referenced in the IIJA—and safety performance targets designated by the Safety Committee. The agency has also made adjustments to other sections of Part 673 to reflect the existence of the Safety Committee and the requirement to consider its recommendations.
Elsewhere, the Final Rule requires agencies, in identifying hazards and mitigation measures, to consider infectious disease exposure data from public health authorities and data from state safety oversight agencies. Agencies must also include de-escalation training and safety concern identification training in their safety training programs. Finally, the Final Rule also extends the applicability of Part 673 to reach all agencies that operate rail fixed guideway systems, even if they only receive formula funds for rural areas or transportation for seniors and those with disabilities.
If you have questions about the Agency Safety Plan regulations, please contact Ayelet Hirschkorn, Suzanne Silverman, Charles Spitulnik, Christian Alexander, or Grant Glovin.