Source: https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?mc=true&node=pt49.7.673&rgn=div5
Timestamp: 2020-02-23 08:49:44
Document Index: 221744269

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 673', 'ART 673', '§673', '§673', '§673', '§673', '§673', '§673', '§673', '§673', '§673', '§673', '§673', '§673', 'art 674', 'art 625', 'art 659', '§673', 'art 674', '§673', '§673', '§673', '§673']

Title 49 → Subtitle B → Chapter VI → Part 673
PART 673—PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION AGENCY SAFETY PLANS
§673.1 Applicability.
§673.3 Policy.
§673.5 Definitions.
Subpart B—Safety Plans
§673.11 General requirements.
§673.13 Certification of compliance.
§673.15 Coordination with metropolitan, statewide, and non-metropolitan planning processes.
Subpart C—Safety Management Systems
§673.21 General requirements.
§673.23 Safety management policy.
§673.25 Safety risk management.
§673.27 Safety assurance.
§673.29 Safety promotion.
Subpart D—Safety Plan Documentation and Recordkeeping
§673.31 Safety plan documentation.
Authority: 49 U.S.C. 5329(d) and 5334; 49 CFR 1.91.
Source: 83 FR 34465, July 19, 2018, unless otherwise noted.
(a) This part applies to any State, local governmental authority, and any other operator of a public transportation system that receives Federal financial assistance under 49 U.S.C. Chapter 53.
(b) This part does not apply to an operator of a public transportation system that only receives Federal financial assistance under 49 U.S.C. 5310, 49 U.S.C. 5311, or both 49 U.S.C. 5310 and 49 U.S.C. 5311.
The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has adopted the principles and methods of Safety Management Systems (SMS) as the basis for enhancing the safety of public transportation in the United States. FTA will follow the principles and methods of SMS in its development of rules, regulations, policies, guidance, best practices, and technical assistance administered under the authority of 49 U.S.C. 5329. This part sets standards for the Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan, which will be responsive to FTA's Public Transportation Safety Program, and reflect the specific safety objectives, standards, and priorities of each transit agency. Each Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan will incorporate SMS principles and methods tailored to the size, complexity, and scope of the public transportation system and the environment in which it operates.
Accident means an Event that involves any of the following: A loss of life; a report of a serious injury to a person; a collision of public transportation vehicles; a runaway train; an evacuation for life safety reasons; or any derailment of a rail transit vehicle, at any location, at any time, whatever the cause.
Accountable Executive means a single, identifiable person who has ultimate responsibility for carrying out the Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan of a public transportation agency; responsibility for carrying out the agency's Transit Asset Management Plan; and control or direction over the human and capital resources needed to develop and maintain both the agency's Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan, in accordance with 49 U.S.C. 5329(d), and the agency's Transit Asset Management Plan in accordance with 49 U.S.C. 5326.
Chief Safety Officer means an adequately trained individual who has responsibility for safety and reports directly to a transit agency's chief executive officer, general manager, president, or equivalent officer. A Chief Safety Officer may not serve in other operational or maintenance capacities, unless the Chief Safety Officer is employed by a transit agency that is a small public transportation provider as defined in this part, or a public transportation provider that does not operate a rail fixed guideway public transportation system.
Equivalent Authority means an entity that carries out duties similar to that of a Board of Directors, for a recipient or subrecipient of FTA funds under 49 U.S.C. Chapter 53, including sufficient authority to review and approve a recipient or subrecipient's Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan.
Event means any Accident, Incident, or Occurrence.
FTA means the Federal Transit Administration, an operating administration within the United States Department of Transportation.
Hazard means any real or potential condition that can cause injury, illness, or death; damage to or loss of the facilities, equipment, rolling stock, or infrastructure of a public transportation system; or damage to the environment.
Incident means an event that involves any of the following: A personal injury that is not a serious injury; one or more injuries requiring medical transport; or damage to facilities, equipment, rolling stock, or infrastructure that disrupts the operations of a transit agency.
Occurrence means an Event without any personal injury in which any damage to facilities, equipment, rolling stock, or infrastructure does not disrupt the operations of a transit agency.
Operator of a public transportation system means a provider of public transportation as defined under 49 U.S.C. 5302(14).
Performance measure means an expression based on a quantifiable indicator of performance or condition that is used to establish targets and to assess progress toward meeting the established targets.
Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan means the documented comprehensive agency safety plan for a transit agency that is required by 49 U.S.C. 5329 and this part.
Rail transit agency means any entity that provides services on a rail fixed guideway public transportation system.
Safety Assurance means processes within a transit agency's Safety Management System that functions to ensure the implementation and effectiveness of safety risk mitigation, and to ensure that the transit agency meets or exceeds its safety objectives through the collection, analysis, and assessment of information.
Safety Management Policy means a transit agency's documented commitment to safety, which defines the transit agency's safety objectives and the accountabilities and responsibilities of its employees in regard to safety.
Safety Management System (SMS) means the formal, top-down, organization-wide approach to managing safety risk and assuring the effectiveness of a transit agency's safety risk mitigation. SMS includes systematic procedures, practices, and policies for managing risks and hazards.
Safety Management System (SMS) Executive means a Chief Safety Officer or an equivalent.
Safety performance target means a Performance Target related to safety management activities.
Safety Promotion means a combination of training and communication of safety information to support SMS as applied to the transit agency's public transportation system.
Safety risk assessment means the formal activity whereby a transit agency determines Safety Risk Management priorities by establishing the significance or value of its safety risks.
Safety Risk Management means a process within a transit agency's Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan for identifying hazards and analyzing, assessing, and mitigating safety risk.
(2) Results in a fracture of any bone (except simple fractures of fingers, toes, or noses);
Small public transportation provider means a recipient or subrecipient of Federal financial assistance under 49 U.S.C. 5307 that has one hundred (100) or fewer vehicles in peak revenue service and does not operate a rail fixed guideway public transportation system.
State of good repair means the condition in which a capital asset is able to operate at a full level of performance.
State Safety Oversight Agency means an agency established by a State that meets the requirements and performs the functions specified by 49 U.S.C. 5329(e) and the regulations set forth in 49 CFR part 674.
Transit agency means an operator of a public transportation system.
Transit Asset Management Plan means the strategic and systematic practice of procuring, operating, inspecting, maintaining, rehabilitating, and replacing transit capital assets to manage their performance, risks, and costs over their life cycles, for the purpose of providing safe, cost-effective, and reliable public transportation, as required by 49 U.S.C. 5326 and 49 CFR part 625.
(a) A transit agency must, within one calendar year after July 19, 2019, establish a Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan that meets the requirements of this part and, at a minimum, consists of the following elements:
(1) The Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan, and subsequent updates, must be signed by the Accountable Executive and approved by the agency's Board of Directors, or an Equivalent Authority.
(2) The Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan must document the processes and activities related to Safety Management System (SMS) implementation, as required under subpart C of this part.
(3) The Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan must include performance targets based on the safety performance measures established under the National Public Transportation Safety Plan.
(4) The Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan must address all applicable requirements and standards as set forth in FTA's Public Transportation Safety Program and the National Public Transportation Safety Plan. Compliance with the minimum safety performance standards authorized under 49 U.S.C. 5329(b)(2)(C) is not required until standards have been established through the public notice and comment process.
(5) Each transit agency must establish a process and timeline for conducting an annual review and update of the Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan.
(6) A rail transit agency must include or incorporate by reference in its Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan an emergency preparedness and response plan or procedures that addresses, at a minimum, the assignment of employee responsibilities during an emergency; and coordination with Federal, State, regional, and local officials with roles and responsibilities for emergency preparedness and response in the transit agency's service area.
(b) A transit agency may develop one Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan for all modes of service, or may develop a Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan for each mode of service not subject to safety regulation by another Federal entity.
(c) A transit agency must maintain its Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan in accordance with the recordkeeping requirements in subpart D of this part.
(d) A State must draft and certify a Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan on behalf of any small public transportation provider that is located in that State. A State is not required to draft a Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan for a small public transportation provider if that agency notifies the State that it will draft its own plan. In each instance, the transit agency must carry out the plan. If a State drafts and certifies a Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan on behalf of a transit agency, and the transit agency later opts to draft and certify its own Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan, then the transit agency must notify the State. The transit agency has one year from the date of the notification to draft and certify a Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan that is compliant with this part. The Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan drafted by the State will remain in effect until the transit agency drafts its own Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan.
(e) Any rail fixed guideway public transportation system that had a System Safety Program Plan compliant with 49 CFR part 659 as of October 1, 2012, may keep that plan in effect until one year after July 19, 2019.
(f) Agencies that operate passenger ferries regulated by the United States Coast Guard (USCG) or rail fixed guideway public transportation service regulated by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) are not required to develop agency safety plans for those modes of service.
(a) Each transit agency, or State as authorized in §673.11(d), must certify that it has established a Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan meeting the requirements of this part one year after July 19, 2019. A State Safety Oversight Agency must review and approve a Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan developed by rail fixed guideway system, as authorized in 49 U.S.C. 5329(e) and its implementing regulations at 49 CFR part 674.
(b) On an annual basis, a transit agency, direct recipient, or State must certify its compliance with this part.
(a) A State or transit agency must make its safety performance targets available to States and Metropolitan Planning Organizations to aid in the planning process.
(b) To the maximum extent practicable, a State or transit agency must coordinate with States and Metropolitan Planning Organizations in the selection of State and MPO safety performance targets.
Each transit agency must establish and implement a Safety Management System under this part. A transit agency Safety Management System must be appropriately scaled to the size, scope and complexity of the transit agency and include the following elements:
(a) Safety Management Policy as described in §673.23;
(b) Safety Risk Management as described in §673.25;
(c) Safety Assurance as described in §673.27; and
(d) Safety Promotion as described in §673.29.
(a) A transit agency must establish its organizational accountabilities and responsibilities and have a written statement of safety management policy that includes the agency's safety objectives.
(b) A transit agency must establish and implement a process that allows employees to report safety conditions to senior management, protections for employees who report safety conditions to senior management, and a description of employee behaviors that may result in disciplinary action.
(c) The safety management policy must be communicated throughout the agency's organization.
(d) The transit agency must establish the necessary authorities, accountabilities, and responsibilities for the management of safety amongst the following individuals within its organization, as they relate to the development and management of the transit agency's Safety Management System (SMS):
(1) Accountable Executive. The transit agency must identify an Accountable Executive. The Accountable Executive is accountable for ensuring that the agency's SMS is effectively implemented, throughout the agency's public transportation system. The Accountable Executive is accountable for ensuring action is taken, as necessary, to address substandard performance in the agency's SMS. The Accountable Executive may delegate specific responsibilities, but the ultimate accountability for the transit agency's safety performance cannot be delegated and always rests with the Accountable Executive.
(2) Chief Safety Officer or Safety Management System (SMS) Executive. The Accountable Executive must designate a Chief Safety Officer or SMS Executive who has the authority and responsibility for day-to-day implementation and operation of an agency's SMS. The Chief Safety Officer or SMS Executive must hold a direct line of reporting to the Accountable Executive. A transit agency may allow the Accountable Executive to also serve as the Chief Safety Officer or SMS Executive.
(3) Agency leadership and executive management. A transit agency must identify those members of its leadership or executive management, other than an Accountable Executive, Chief Safety Officer, or SMS Executive, who have authorities or responsibilities for day-to-day implementation and operation of an agency's SMS.
(4) Key staff. A transit agency may designate key staff, groups of staff, or committees to support the Accountable Executive, Chief Safety Officer, or SMS Executive in developing, implementing, and operating the agency's SMS.
(a) Safety Risk Management process. A transit agency must develop and implement a Safety Risk Management process for all elements of its public transportation system. The Safety Risk Management process must be comprised of the following activities: Safety hazard identification, safety risk assessment, and safety risk mitigation.
(b) Safety hazard identification. (1) A transit agency must establish methods or processes to identify hazards and consequences of the hazards.
(2) A transit agency must consider, as a source for hazard identification, data and information provided by an oversight authority and the FTA.
(c) Safety risk assessment. (1) A transit agency must establish methods or processes to assess the safety risks associated with identified safety hazards.
(2) A safety risk assessment includes an assessment of the likelihood and severity of the consequences of the hazards, including existing mitigations, and prioritization of the hazards based on the safety risk.
(d) Safety risk mitigation. A transit agency must establish methods or processes to identify mitigations or strategies necessary as a result of the agency's safety risk assessment to reduce the likelihood and severity of the consequences.
(a) Safety assurance process. A transit agency must develop and implement a safety assurance process, consistent with this subpart. A rail fixed guideway public transportation system, and a recipient or subrecipient of Federal financial assistance under 49 U.S.C. Chapter 53 that operates more than one hundred vehicles in peak revenue service, must include in its safety assurance process each of the requirements in paragraphs (b), (c), and (d) of this section. A small public transportation provider only must include in its safety assurance process the requirements in paragraph (b) of this section.
(b) Safety performance monitoring and measurement. A transit agency must establish activities to:
(1) Monitor its system for compliance with, and sufficiency of, the agency's procedures for operations and maintenance;
(2) Monitor its operations to identify any safety risk mitigations that may be ineffective, inappropriate, or were not implemented as intended;
(3) Conduct investigations of safety events to identify causal factors; and
(4) Monitor information reported through any internal safety reporting programs.
(c) Management of change. (1) A transit agency must establish a process for identifying and assessing changes that may introduce new hazards or impact the transit agency's safety performance.
(2) If a transit agency determines that a change may impact its safety performance, then the transit agency must evaluate the proposed change through its Safety Risk Management process.
(d) Continuous improvement. (1) A transit agency must establish a process to assess its safety performance.
(2) If a transit agency identifies any deficiencies as part of its safety performance assessment, then the transit agency must develop and carry out, under the direction of the Accountable Executive, a plan to address the identified safety deficiencies.
(a) Competencies and training. A transit agency must establish and implement a comprehensive safety training program for all agency employees and contractors directly responsible for safety in the agency's public transportation system. The training program must include refresher training, as necessary.
(b) Safety communication. A transit agency must communicate safety and safety performance information throughout the agency's organization that, at a minimum, conveys information on hazards and safety risks relevant to employees' roles and responsibilities and informs employees of safety actions taken in response to reports submitted through an employee safety reporting program.
At all times, a transit agency must maintain documents that set forth its Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan, including those related to the implementation of its Safety Management System (SMS), and results from SMS processes and activities. A transit agency must maintain documents that are included in whole, or by reference, that describe the programs, policies, and procedures that the agency uses to carry out its Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan. These documents must be made available upon request by the Federal Transit Administration or other Federal entity, or a State Safety Oversight Agency having jurisdiction. A transit agency must maintain these documents for a minimum of three years after they are created.