Title
Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan - Request for Approval
Description
This report requests City Council approval of the City's Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan (PTASP), a new requirement of the Federal Transit Administration (FTA).
Report
Summary
On July 19, 2019, the FTA published the PTASP Final Rule, requiring public transportation systems that receive federal grant funds to develop safety plans that include Safety Management Systems (SMS) and to set safety performance measure targets by Dec. 31, 2020.
The purpose of the Final Rule is to ensure safety within public transit systems nationwide. SMS elements include:
- Safety Management Policy - A commitment to safety, defining the system’s objectives and employees’ responsibilities to safety;
- Safety Risk Management - A process for identifying, analyzing, documenting, and mitigating safety risks and hazards;
- Safety Promotion - A procedure for safety training and communication; and
- Safety Assurance - A responsibility for safety performance monitoring and measurement, management of change, and continuous improvement.
Safety Performance Measures outlined by the National PTASP, including specific definitions for "reportable events" occurring within the transit environment (or otherwise related to transit service, vehicles, or facilities), are as follows:
- Fatalities - Total number of reportable fatalities; rate per total vehicle revenue miles by mode;
- Injuries - Total number of reportable injuries; rate per total vehicle revenue miles by mode;
- Safety Events - Total number of reportable events; rate per total vehicle revenue miles by mode; and
- System Reliability - Mean distance between major mechanical failures by mode.
Additional Information
The City’s draft PTASP (Attachment A) was developed through a collaborative process between staff from the Public Transit Department (PTD) and T2050 Project Management Consultant (PMC) Team. This Plan follows federally mandated processes and procedures, including SMS principles and methods.
In addition, the City coordinated its PTASP with the three service providers it contracts with to operate and maintain the City’s bus and paratransit services. As a result, each contractor has developed its own respective safety plan unique to that contractor's operations, facilities, and workforces. Under the new FTA Final Rule, PTD is responsible for administering the safety of the City's transit system, including oversight of the City's bus and paratransit service providers.
The Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG) coordinates and provides guidance to the regional transit agencies while the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) provides assistance to transit agencies across the State. The City’s regional partners, consisting of the Regional Public Transportation Authority (RPTA), Valley Metro Rail (VMR), Scottsdale, Glendale, and Peoria, also fall under the new FTA Final Rule and have created PTASPs specific to their transit operations.
Under federal requirements, the City's PTASP must be approved by the City Council. Once implemented, this Plan will be reviewed annually. The FTA then requires each transit system to annually self-certify that it has a PTASP that meets the requirements of the Final Rule. The FTA also intends to use its triennial oversight review program to assess compliance with the Final Rule.
Concurrence/Previous Council Action
This item was approved by the Citizens Transportation Commission on Oct. 22, 2020, by a vote of 10-0.
This item was approved by the Transportation, Infrastructure and Innovation Subcommittee on Nov. 4, 2020, by a vote of 4-0.
Department
Responsible Department
This item is submitted by Deputy City Manager Mario Paniagua and the Public Transit Department.