Transit Safety: The Federal Transit Administration’s State Safety Oversight Program

Wednesday, July 19, 2006 – 2:00 p.m., 2167 Rayburn.

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PURPOSE

The Subcommittee on Highways, Transit, and Pipelines will hold an oversight hearing to examine the effectiveness and management of the Federal Transit Administration’s State Safety Oversight program, which governs the safety of rail transit systems other than commuter rail.

BACKGROUND

In 2004, there were 9.4 billion unlinked transit passenger trips, of which 3.25 billion trips were on rail fixed guideway systems that operate under the Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) State Safety Oversight program. The State Safety Oversight program (49 U.S.C. 5330) applies to rail systems that are included in FTA’s calculation of fixed guideway route miles or receive funding under FTA’s formula program for urbanized areas, but are not regulated by the Federal Railroad Administration. Because commuter rail systems utilize the general railway system, they are regulated by the Federal Railroad Administration.

There are three categories of rail fixed guideway systems under the State Safety Oversight program:

Heavy rail: metros, subways, and rapid rail; multiple-car trains on fixed, exclusive rights-of-way; characterized by high speeds and sophisticated signaling systems.

Light rail: lightweight passenger rail cars, usually electrically powered, that travel singly or in short two-car trains on fixed right-of-way, sometimes not separated from on-street traffic (includes trolleys and streetcars).

Other rail: automated guideways and monorails, funiculars, and cable cars.

Rail transit is a very safe mode of transportation. There were 3.25 billion passenger trips on heavy rail, light rail, and other rail in 2004, and a total of 82 fatalities. (27 of these deaths were suicides, which could not be foreseen or prevented by the transit agencies.)

There are a number of reasons that riding transit is a very safe way to travel. In general, transit vehicles are much larger and more substantially built than personal cars and vans. Most rail cars run on separate rights-of-way, and rail crossings are usually protected by crossing gates. Furthermore transit vehicle operators are highly trained to drive defensively and anticipate potential safety problems. However, any number of preventable accidents is too many – transit providers must strive to make every trip safe and reliable.

Because FTA is not a regulatory agency, it does not manage a top-down safety inspection and enforcement program like those of the Federal Railroad Administration, Federal Aviation Administration, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, or the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. Instead, FTA relies upon State Safety Oversight agencies that are designated by each State that has a fixed guideway rail system. There are currently 42 rail transit systems under the State Safety Oversight program, in 26 different states. In the next 3 years, as many as 7 more rail transit systems may open, including systems in 2 more states.

Section 5330 of title 49, U.S.C., provides that the Secretary of Transportation may withhold 5 percent of the State’s transit formula grants if the State does not meet the State Safety Oversight program requirements. These requirements are to establish and carry out a safety program plan for each rail transit system in the State. The State must designate an agency that has responsibility to:

Ø review, approve and monitor how the transit system’s safety program plan is carried out;

Ø investigate hazardous conditions and accidents on the transit system; and

Ø require actions that correct or eliminate hazardous conditions.

The State Safety Oversight program was created in 1991, in the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act. Final regulations implementing the program were promulgated in 1995, and all States with qualifying rail transit systems were required to be in compliance by January 1997. Since then, only two States have had formula grants withheld due to non-compliance with this section, Georgia and Michigan. After the States established oversight agencies and safety program plans for their rail systems, the Federal funds were released, as outlined under the provisions of subsection 5330(e).

In April 2005, FTA published a new final rule for the State Safety Oversight program that made some relatively minor regulatory changes and reorganized the rule to enhance usability. Under the rule, each oversight agency must require the rail transit agency to develop and maintain a separate system safety program plan and system security plan. FTA defines “safety” as freedom from harm resulting from unintentional acts or circumstances. “Security” means freedom from harm resulting from intentional acts or circumstances (whether these intentional dangers are the result of crime or terrorism). The rule also extends applicability of the State Safety Oversight program to projects that are locally funded and are not currently included in FTA’s calculation of fixed guideway route miles, but for which project sponsors intend to seek future Federal funding or inclusion in route mile calculations for the purpose of receiving formula grant program funds.

SAFETEA: LU also made some minor statutory changes to the State Safety Oversight program. The most important legislative change requires earlier compliance with the State Safety Oversight program – heretofore, a new rail transit system could not begin revenue operation until it met the section 5330 requirements, but SAFETEA: LU requires compliance in the project design stage, so that safety oversight is “built in” to the project.

At the request of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has reviewed the State Safety Oversight program. According to the oversight agencies and transit providers that GAO interviewed for the report, the program is definitely worthwhile. Agencies cited safety improvements such as reductions in derailments, fires and collisions. However, FTA has not developed performance goals for the program, and thus has been unable to definitively measure the program’s benefits. GAO also noted that staffing levels and expertise vary widely across oversight agencies, with some States employing as few as 0.1 or 0.2 full-time equivalent positions (FTEs) for dedicated safety oversight. GAO also found that there is some confusion about what role oversight agencies are to play in overseeing rail security, since the Transportation Security Administration has hired rail inspectors to perform a potentially similar function, which could result in conflicting directions or duplication of effort.

CHAIRMAN'S OPENING STATEMENT
Chairman Tom Petri (Rep - WI)

WITNESSES:

Panel 1

Ms. Susan E. Schruth

Associate Administrator for Program Management

Federal Transit Administration

Ms. Kate Siggerud

Director, Physical Infrastructure Issues

U.S. Government Accountability Office

Panel 2

Mr. William W. Millar

President