Rail transit is an important component of the nation’s transportation network, particularly in large metropolitan areas. Rail transit systems provide around 4.3 billion passenger trips annually. The five largest heavy rail systems carried 3.2 billion passengers in 2008, 90 percent of all heavy rail trips. The NYCT system surpassed all the other heavy rail systems by carrying almost 2.4 billion passengers—2.1 billion more than the next largest heavy rail system. Conversely, the five largest light rail systems are much smaller, collectively carrying 244 million passengers in 2008. The largest light rail system, operated by MBTA, carried 74 million passengers. Public transit is seen as an affordable mode of transportation and a means to alleviate roadway congestion and emissions. Increases in gasoline prices over the past decade also have resulted in higher ridership, which peaked in fall 2008. Although ridership declined in 2009 by about 4 percent, following the 2008 economic recession and a decrease in gasoline prices, transit ridership is expected to grow in years to come. Heavy and light rail transit systems have developed throughout the nation over the past 100 years. The oldest systems in cities such as Boston, New York, and Chicago, among others, were generally built by private companies which eventually went out of business, requiring the systems’ respective local governments to provide financial help to keep the systems operating. During the 1960s, Congress established a federal capital assistance program for mass transportation. With federal capital assistance, many other cities constructed rail transit systems, including heavy rail systems in Atlanta, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C. Heavy rail systems tend to be larger and carry many more passengers than light rail systems. While there are currently more than twice as many light rail systems as there are heavy rail systems, the heavy rail systems carry about seven times as many passengers and cover more than 50 percent more miles of track than light rail systems (see fig.1). The types of safety risks associated with each rail mode differ somewhat. For example, the higher volume of passengers, the higher speed of the trains, and the third rail on the track pose safety risks for heavy rail systems; the numerous interfaces between rail cars and vehicular traffic and pedestrians pose safety risks for light rail systems. Since the 1980s, newly constructed systems have been predominantly light rail systems. Rail transit systems are managed by public transit agencies accountable to their local government. However, rail transit agencies rely on a combination of local, state, and federal funds, in addition to system- generated revenues such as fares, to operate and maintain their systems. Some states and local governments provide a dedicated revenue source for transit, such as a percentage of the state or local sales tax, or issue bonds for public transportation. In 2008, about 57 percent of all funds for both operating expenses and capital investments were from local and state government. Other sources, such as farebox revenues, provided 26 percent. The federal government’s share was about 17 percent. Even though federal funding has predominantly been for capital investments, by 2008 local government replaced the federal government as the largest source of capital investment funds. However, in the past few years there have been decreases in the amounts of state and local funding available to transit agencies, especially for those agencies that depend on tax revenues, which have experienced decreases as a result of the general economic slowdown faced by the nation. As a result, many transit agencies have faced budget cutbacks. FTA uses many funding programs to support transit agencies. In particular, two FTA programs—the Urbanized Area Formula Program and the Fixed Guideway Modernization Program—provide funding that can be used by existing transit agencies in urbanized areas to modernize or improve their systems. Specifically, these funds can be used for purchasing and rehabilitating rail cars and preventive maintenance, among other things. In 2009, additional funds were made available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act). Recovery Act funds are used primarily for capital projects, although some funds were made available for and have been used for operating expenses. In comparison with other modes of transportation, rail transit is relatively safe. For example, occupants of motor vehicles are more than 70 times more likely to die in accidents while traveling as are passengers of rail transit systems. However, several large rail transit agencies in recent years have had major accidents that resulted in fatalities, injuries, and significant property damage. NTSB has investigated a number of these accidents and has issued reports identifying the probable causes of and factors that contributed to them. Since 2004, NTSB has reported on eight rail transit accidents that, collectively, resulted in 13 fatalities, 297 injuries, and about $29 million in property damages. In five of these accident investigations, NTSB found the probable cause to involve employee errors, such as the failure of the train operator to comply with operating rules and of track inspectors to maintain an effective lookout for oncoming trains while working on the tracks. Of the remaining three accidents, NTSB found that problems with equipment were a probable cause of two accidents and that weaknesses in management of safety by the transit agency were a probable cause in all three accidents. In six of these investigations, NTSB reported that contributing factors involved deficiencies in safety management or oversight, such as weaknesses in transit agencies’ safety rules and procedures, lack of a safety culture within the transit agency, and lack of adequate oversight by the transit agency’s state safety oversight agency and FTA. See appendix I for further information on these accident investigations. Transit agencies are responsible for the operation, maintenance, and safety and security of their rail systems but are subject to a tiered state and federal safety oversight program. The Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 mandated FTA to establish a State Safety Oversight Program for rail fixed guideway public transportation systems that are not subject to FRA regulation. Through this program, FTA monitors 27 state safety oversight agencies that oversee the safety of rail transit operations in 25 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. While FTA has discretionary authority to investigate safety hazards at transit systems it funds, it does not have authority to directly oversee safety programs of rail transit agencies. FTA, however, does have the authority and responsibility for overseeing transit agencies’ workplace drug and alcohol testing programs. FTA also collects safety data, including data on types of accidents and causes, from the state safety oversight agencies and the transit agencies they oversee. Transit agencies provide safety data for FTA’s National Transit Database while the state safety oversight agencies provide safety data through annual reports to FTA. Under FTA regulations, state safety oversight agencies must develop a program standard that outlines transit agencies’ safety responsibilities. In particular, transit agencies are required to develop and implement safety programs that include, among other things, standards and processes for identifying safety concerns and hazards, and ensuring that they are addressed; a process to develop and ensure compliance with rules and procedures that have a safety impact; and a safety training and certification program for employees. Moreover, FTA requires state safety oversight agencies to perform safety audits of their transit agencies at least once every 3 years, investigate transit accidents, and ensure that deficiencies are corrected. FTA, however, does not fund state safety oversight agencies to carry out this work. Our earlier work found that many state safety oversight agencies lacked adequate staffing, employed varying practices, and applied FTA’s regulations differently. As noted earlier, FTA’s role in overseeing safety on rail transit systems is relatively limited, which is reflected in the number of staff that it employs to fill that role. FTA’s Office of Safety and Security has 15 to 17 staff members managing safety, security, and emergency management programs. They are supported by contractor staff. In December 2009, DOT proposed to Congress major changes in FTA’s role that would shift the balance of federal and state responsibilities for oversight of rail transit safety. DOT proposed the following: FTA, through legislation, would receive authority to establish and enforce minimum safety standards for rail transit systems not already regulated by FRA. A state may continue to have a state safety oversight program to oversee public transportation safety—by “opting in”—given that its program complies with the federal laws, regulations, and policies that FTA would implement if it receives expanded authority proposed in the legislation. DOT would provide federal assistance to states with FTA-approved state safety programs to enforce the federal minimum safety standards. Participating states could set more stringent safety standards if they chose to do so. In states that decided to “opt out” of participation or where FTA has found the program proposals inadequate, FTA would oversee compliance with and enforce federal safety regulations. Subsequently, during the 111th Congress, several bills including these changes were proposed. Instilling a safety culture agencywide is a challenge the largest transit agencies face that can impact their ability to ensure safe operations. The concept of safety culture can be defined in different ways and the level of safety culture in an organization can be difficult to measure. As we have previously reported, safety culture can include: organizational awareness of and commitment to the importance of safety, individual dedication and accountability for those engaged in any activity that has a bearing on safety in the workplace, and an environment in which employees can report safety events without fear of punishment. According to NTSB officials, in organizations with effective safety cultures, senior management demonstrates a commitment to safety and a concern for hazards that are shared by employees at all levels within the organization. Furthermore, such organizations have effective safety management systems that include appropriate safety rules and procedures, employee adherence to these rules and procedures, well- defined processes for identifying and addressing safety-related problems, and adequate safety training available for employees and management. FTA officials told us that it is difficult to define safety culture but noted that attributes of a strong safety culture include open communication about safety throughout the agency, nonpunitive safety reporting by employees, and the identification of safety trends based on agency- collected data.