Document ID: FMCSA-2023-0182-0001
Agency: fmcsa
Document Type: Notice
Title: Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposals, Submissions, and Approvals: Generic Clearance of Customer Satisfaction Surveys
Posted Date: 2023-10-27T04:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 207 (Friday, October 27, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 73933-73935]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-23744]

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

[Docket No. FMCSA-2023-0182]

Agency Information Collection Activities; Renewal of a Currently 
Approved Information Collection: Generic Clearance of Customer 
Satisfaction Surveys

AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), Department 
of Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, FMCSA 
announces its plan to submit the Information Collection Request (ICR) 
described below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for its 
review and approval and invites public comment. In order to work 
continuously to ensure that our programs are effective and meet our 
customers' needs, FMCSA requests approval to renew an ICR titled, 
``Generic Clearance of Customer Satisfaction Surveys.'' This ICR allows 
FMCSA to continue collecting feedback on our service delivery. By 
feedback, we mean information that provides useful insights on 
perceptions and opinions but are not statistical surveys that yield 
quantitative results that can be generalized to the population of 
study.

DATES: Comments on this notice must be received on or before December 
26, 2023.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by Docket Number FMCSA-
2023-0182 using any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the online instructions for submitting comments.
     Mail: Dockets Operations; U.S. Department of 
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building, Ground Floor, 
Washington, DC 20590-0001.
     Hand Delivery or Courier: Dockets Operations, U.S. 
Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building, 
Ground Floor, Washington, DC 20590-0001 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET, 
Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. To be sure someone is 
there to help you, please call (202) 366-9317 or (202) 366-9826 before 
visiting Dockets Operations.
     Fax: 1-202-493-2251.
    To avoid duplication, please use only one of these four methods. 
See the ``Public Participation and Request for Comments'' portion of 
the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section for instructions on submitting 
comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Roxane Oliver, FMCSA, Office of 
Analysis, Department of Transportation, FMCSA, 1200 New Jersey Avenue 
SE, Washington, DC 20590, (202) 385-2324, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Instructions

    All submissions must include the Agency name and docket number. For 
detailed instructions on submitting comments, see the Public 
Participation heading below. Note that all comments received will be 
posted without change to https://www.regulations.gov, including any 
personal information

[[Page 73934]]

provided. Please see the Privacy Act heading below.

Public Participation and Request for Comments

    If you submit a comment, please include the docket number for this 
notice (FMCSA-2023-0182), indicate the specific section of this 
document to which your comment applies, and provide a reason for each 
suggestion or recommendation. You may submit your comments and material 
online or by fax, mail, or hand delivery, but please use only one of 
these means. FMCSA recommends that you include your name and a mailing 
address, an email address, or a phone number in the body of your 
document so FMCSA can contact you if there are questions regarding your 
submission.
    To submit your comment online, go to https://www.regulations.gov/docket/FMCSA-2023-0182/document, click on this notice, click 
``Comment,'' and type your comment into the text box on the following 
screen.
    If you submit your comments by mail or hand delivery, submit them 
in an unbound format, no larger than 8\1/2\ by 11 inches, suitable for 
copying and electronic filing.
    Comments received after the comment closing date will be included 
in the docket and will be considered to the extent practicable.

Privacy Act

    In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 553(c), DOT solicits comments from the 
public to better inform its rulemaking process. DOT posts these 
comments, without edit, including any personal information the 
commenter provides, to www.regulations.gov, as described in the system 
of records notice (DOT/ALL-14 FDMS), which can be reviewed at 
www.dot.gov/privacy.

Background

    Executive Order 12862, Setting Customer Service Standards, and most 
recently updated E.O. 13571, requires the Federal Government to provide 
the ``highest quality service possible to the American people.'' Under 
the order, the ``standard of quality for services provided to the 
public shall be: Customer service equal to the best in business.'' In 
order to work continuously to ensure that our programs are effective 
and meet our customers' needs, FMCSA seeks to renew OMB's approval of a 
generic clearance to collect qualitative feedback from our customers on 
our service delivery. The surveys covered in this generic clearance 
provide a means for FMCSA to collect this data directly from our 
customers. By qualitative feedback, we mean information that provides 
useful insights on perceptions and opinions but are not statistical 
surveys that yield quantitative results that can be generalized to the 
population of study. This feedback provides insights into customer or 
stakeholder perceptions, experiences and expectations, provides an 
early warning of issues with service, or focuses attention on areas of 
communication, training or changes in operations that might improve 
delivery of products or services. These collections allow for ongoing, 
collaborative and actionable communications between the Agency and its 
customers and stakeholders. They also allow feedback to contribute 
directly to the improvement of program management.
    The solicitation of feedback targets areas such as: timeliness, 
appropriateness, accuracy of information, courtesy, efficiency of 
service delivery, and resolution of issues with service delivery. 
Responses are assessed to plan and inform efforts to improve or 
maintain the quality of service offered to the public. If this 
information is not collected, vital feedback from customers and 
stakeholders on the Agency's services will be unavailable.
    The Agency will submit a planned collection for approval under this 
generic clearance only if it meets the conditions that such collections 
are:
     voluntary;
     low-burden for respondents (based on considerations of 
total burden hours, total number of respondents, or burden hours per 
respondent) and are low-cost for both the respondents and the Federal 
Government;
     noncontroversial and do not raise issues of concern to 
other Federal agencies;
     targeted to the solicitation of opinions from respondents 
who have experience with the program or may have experience with the 
program in the near future;
     only collecting personally identifiable information (PII) 
to the extent necessary and not retaining it;
     only collecting information intended to be used only 
internally for general service improvement and program management, and 
any release outside the agency must indicate the qualitative nature of 
the information;
     not to be used for the purpose of substantially informing 
influential policy decisions; and
     intended to yield only qualitative information.
    This type of generic clearance for qualitative information will not 
be used for quantitative information collections that are designed to 
yield reliably actionable results, such as monitoring trends over time 
or documenting program performance. Such data uses require more 
rigorous designs that address: the target population to which 
generalizations will be made; the sampling frame, the sample design 
(including stratification and clustering), the precision requirements 
or power calculations that justify the proposed sample size; and the 
expected response rate, methods for assessing potential nonresponse 
bias, the protocols for data collection, and any testing procedures 
that were or will be undertaken prior to fielding the study. Depending 
on the degree of influence the results are likely to have, such 
collections may still be eligible for submission for other mechanisms 
that are designed to yield quantitative results. As a general matter, 
information collections will not result in any new system of records 
containing privacy information and will not ask questions of a 
sensitive nature, such as sexual behavior and attitudes, religious 
beliefs, and other matters that are commonly considered private.
    Title: Generic Clearance of Customer Satisfaction Surveys.
    OMB Control Number: 2126-0061.
    Type of Request: Renewal of currently approved collection.
    Respondents: State and local agencies, general public and 
stakeholders; original equipment manufacturers and suppliers to the 
commercial motor vehicle (CMV) industry; fleets, owner-operators, state 
CMV safety agencies, research organizations and contractors; news 
organizations and safety advocacy groups.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 5,900 (5,000 customer satisfaction 
survey respondents + 100 listening sessions/stakeholder feedback forums 
respondents + 300 focus group respondents + 500 strategic planning 
customer satisfaction survey respondents).
    Estimated Time per Response: Range from 10 to 120 minutes.
    Expiration Date: July 31, 2024.
    Frequency of Response: Generally, on an annual basis.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 1,758 hours (833 hours for customer 
satisfaction surveys + 200 hours for listening sessions/stakeholder 
feedback forums + 600 hours for focus groups + 125 hours for strategic 
planning customer satisfaction surveys).
    Public Comments Invited: You are asked to comment on any aspect of 
this information collection, including: (1) whether the proposed 
collection is necessary for the performance of

[[Page 73935]]

FMCSA's functions; (2) the accuracy of the estimated burden; (3) ways 
for FMCSA to enhance the quality, usefulness, and clarity of the 
collected information; and (4) ways that the burden could be minimized 
without reducing the quality of the collected information. The Agency 
will summarize or include your comments in the request for OMB's 
clearance of this ICR.
    Issued under the authority of 49 CFR 1.87.

Thomas P. Keane,
Associate Administrator, Office of Research and Registration.
[FR Doc. 2023-23744 Filed 10-26-23; 8:45 am]
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