View Rule

This rulemaking would establish requirements for States or recipients to develop and implement individual agency safety plans. The requirements of this rulemaking will be based on the principles and concepts of Safety Management Systems (SMS). SMS is the formal, top-down, organization-wide approach to managing safety risks and assuring the effectiveness of a transit agency´s safety risk controls. SMS includes systematic procedures, practices, and policies for managing hazards and risks.

Statement of Need:

The public transportation industry remains among the safest surface transportation modes in terms of total reported safety events, fatalities, and injuries. The National Safety Council (NSC) reports that in most locations around the nation, passengers on public transportation vehicles are 40 to 70 times less likely to experience an accident than drivers and passengers in private automobiles. Nonetheless, given the complexity of public transportation service, the condition and performance of transit equipment and facilities, turnover in the transit workforce, and the quality of procedures, training, and supervision, the public transportation industry remains vulnerable to catastrophic accidents. This Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) proposes a minimal set of requirements for Public Transportation Agency Safety Plans that would carry out the several explicit statutory mandates in the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (Pub. L. 112-141; July 6, 2012) (MAP-21), now codified at 49 U.S.C. 5329(d), to strengthen the safety of public transportation systems that receive Federal financial assistance under chapter 53. This NPRM proposes requirements for the adoption of Safety Management Systems (SMS) principles and methods; the development, certification, and update of Public Transportation Agency Safety Plans; and the coordination of Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan elements with other FTA programs and proposed rules, as specified in MAP-21.

Summary of the Legal Basis:

49 U.S.C. 5329(d)

Alternatives:

MAP-21 requires the Department to issue this regulation. The NPRM will set forth FTA's proposals for implementing the requirement for Public Transportation Safety Plans and solicit comments on alternatives to both the proposals therein and to regulation.

Anticipated Costs and Benefits:

FTA has determined that this is an ''economically significant'' rule under Executive Order 12866, since it would cost approximately $111 million in the first year and $90 million per year thereafter. The average annual cost over a 20-year horizon period is $92 million. The benefits of the proposed rule are estimated at $775 million per year over the 20-year horizon period.

Risks:

The NPRM is merely a proposal for public comment, and would not impose any binding obligations. However, given that the safety program is new, there will likely be significant interest in any action FTA takes to implement the requirements of the program.