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2025 Updated Public Transportation Agency Safety Performance Measures and Targets
Crystal Odum, MPO Staff
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On July 19, 2018, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) published the Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan (PTASP) Final Rule, which requires certain operators of public transportation systems that receive federal funds under the FTA's Urbanized Area Formula Grants to develop safety plans that include the processes and procedures to implement Safety Management Systems (SMS). The rule applies to all operators of public transportation systems that are recipients and sub-recipients of federal financial assistance under the Urbanized Area Formula Program (49 U.S.C. § 5307) and all rail transit operator recipients. Agencies are required to have a certified Agency Safety Plan that meets statutory requirements no later than July 20, 2021, which includes safety performance targets, and sharing targets with their MPO and State. In 2021, regional transit agencies GoTriangle, GoRaleigh/City of Raleigh, GoCary/Town of Cary and GoWakeAccess/Wake County each certified and adopted agency safety plans and initial agency performance measures and targets for fatalities, injuries, safety events and system reliability.
On May 19, 2021, the CAMPO Executive Board adopted initial regional safety measures and targets recommended by CAMPO staff. The providers annually update the plans and goals as needed and per regulations. CAMPO staff meets biannually with transit providers and NCDOT IMD. Per 23 C.F.R. § 450.306, the MPO set initial regional performance targets for each performance measure which are updated every four years to align with the MPO’s Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP) adoption.
In April 2024, FTA published the first major update <https://www.transit.dot.gov/about/news/usdot-finalizes-important-national-regulation-promote-transit-safety-and-protect-transit> to the PTASP regulation. These updates are part of a continuing effort to improve transit safety performance on federally supported transit systems, and PTASP is the first rule finalized by FTA under Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) requirements to make transit safer for both transit workers and passengers. It incorporates IIJA requirements, such as:
• advancing safety management system (SMS) processes,
• increasing frontline transit worker involvement,
• expanding de-escalation training,
• addressing safety risk, including assaults on transit workers, transit vehicle-pedestrian collisions, and infectious disease exposure, and
• Sets risk reduction performance targets using a three-year rolling average of the data submitted by the recipient to the National Transit Database and allocate not less than 0.75 percent of their section 5307 funds to safety related projects.
FTA also published an update to the National Public Transportation Safety Plan <https://www.transit.dot.gov/regulations-and-programs/safety/national-public-transportation-safety-plan> that serves as FTA’s primary guidance document to improve transit safety performance. FTA updated the plan to align with Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act requirements and to include best practices, tools, technical assistance, voluntary standards and other resources. FTA issued General Directive 24-1: Required Actions Regarding Assaults on Transit Workers <https://www.transit.dot.gov/assaults> requiring each transit agency subject to FTA's PTASP regulation to conduct a safety risk assessment, identify safety risk mitigations or strategies and provide information to FTA on how it is assessing, mitigating and monitoring the safety risk associated with assaults on transit workers. Each transit agency subject to PTASP regulation must revise its ASP to address the new safety performance measures defined by the National Safety Plan.
Following August and October 2025 coordination meetings with the regional transit partners, CAMPO staff recommends the 2025 regional transit safety targets be updated to include the new safety measures and once again align with agency targets. The partners concur with this recommendation. Staff recommends the regional transit agency safety performance targets, as listed in Exhibit A of the attached resolution, as the basis for continued partner discussions and collaboration. As federally required, staff will present updated, collaborative safety measures and targets for inclusion into our planning documents including the 2055 MTP for public comment and recommended adoption.
Requested Action: Action Recommend the Executive Board adopt the updated regional 2025 transit performance measures and targets and the resolution supporting targets for Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan Performance Measures