Announcements

FTA Issues for Public Comment a Proposed General Directive on Required Actions Regarding Assaults on Transit Workers

Published on: December 31, 2023

Today, FTA is issuing for public comment a proposed General Directive on Required Actions Regarding Assaults on Transit Workers, initiating a significant step to reduce assaults on our nation’s transit workforce, an ongoing concern in the transit industry.

This proposed General Directive is in response to the ongoing incidents of assaults on transit workers, and FTA’s concern about the need to address the risk of assaults on transit workers. The General Directive:

• Requires each transit agency subject to the Public Transportation Agency Safety Plans (PTASP) regulation to conduct a safety risk assessment related to assaults on transit workers on the public transportation system they operate using the Safety Management Systems (SMS) processes outlined in their Agency Safety Plan;
• Requires each transit agency to identify safety risk mitigations or strategies based on its safety risk assessment. As required by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, each transit agency serving a large urbanized area must involve the joint labor-management Safety Committee when identifying safety risk mitigations; and
• Requires each transit agency to provide information to FTA on how they are assessing, mitigating and monitoring the safety risk related to assaults on transit workers within 60 days of issuance of the final General Directive.

This information will help FTA understand how transit worker assault safety risk assessments and safety risk mitigations vary throughout the industry, informing the agency of further activities that may be effective in reducing the risk of assaults on transit workers.

The comment period for the proposed General Directive will be open for 60 days and close on February 20, 2024.

Links:
Proposed General Directive on Required Actions Regarding Assaults on Transit Workers
Proposed General Directive on Required Actions Regarding Assaults on Transit Workers Docket
Using SMS to Protect Transit Workers from Assault
Public Transportation Agency Safety Plans (PTASP) Regulation
PTASP Website