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PTASP Technical Assistance Forum

In light of the extraordinary challenges presented by the COVID-19 public health emergency, on December 11, 2020 FTA issued a second Notice of Enforcement Discretion for the Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan (PTASP) regulation (49 CFR Part 673). FTA will refrain from taking enforcement action until July 21, 2021 for recipients and subrecipients unable to certify compliance with the PTASP regulation. Please visit FTA’s COVID-19 FAQs page for more information about the Notice.


This forum offers peer-to-peer sharing of effective practices to support you in developing an Agency Safety Plan and implementing a Safety Management System.  It also provides an opportunity for you to ask questions and request and share resources with the transit community.

How it works:
  • Post a question, comment, or idea, or offer or request a resource.
  • Check out questions, comments, or ideas others have suggested and vote on your favorites.
  • Please include one question, comment, or suggestion per post to help us keep the forum organized.
Thanks for joining our community and working to support PTASP implementation.
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84 results found

  1. Safety Promotion

    What methods of communication does your agency use to announce safety concerns?

    1 vote

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    0 comments  ·  Safety Promotion  ·  Admin →
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  2. ASP Development Progress and COVID-19

    Has the COVID-19 public health emergency affected the contents of your Agency Safety Plan, and if so, how?

    1 vote

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  3. Bus Contractor's Existing SSPP?

    Question: Our agency contracts our bus and paratransit service operations and maintenance to a contractor, and that contractor has an existing System Safety Program Plan (SSPP). Since our agency is the recipient of the FTA funds (not the contractor), can the contractor keep their existing SSPP, and can our new ASP cite/reference sections of the contractor's SSPP?

    1 vote

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  4. Agency Contractors

    Question - Does the number of vehicles that a contractor uses to provide service affect the number of vehicles in service during peak hours and determine whether you are considered a small or large provider? Should the contractor vehicles be counted with the vehicles that your agency directly operates?

    1 vote

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  5. Sub-contractors in ASP?

    If fixed route and paratransit is provided by a contracted entity, does ASP also need to address sub-contracted companies such as security, janitorial, visiting personnel, etc. If so, do they need a separate section in the ASP?

    1 vote

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  6. Describing the Modes of Transit

    Should NTD terms be used to describe the Modes of Service in the following sections: Safety Performance Targets ; Transit Agency Information? Or is Paratransit and Fixed Bus acceptable like in the sample plan? Might be simple to many but I need clarification, help?

    1 vote

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  7. MPO?

    I am working on the portion where it asks to describe the coordination with the State and MPO the selection of the safety performance targets. We are a large bus transit agency. Who would the MPO be? We report data to the NTD. Would they be our MPO?

    1 vote

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  8. Employee Safety Reporting Program

    What method(s) does your agency use for employee safety reporting?

    2 votes

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  9. Contractor Training

    Will your agency require SMS training for contractors? If so, what will that training address?

    2 votes

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  10. 5 votes

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    responded  ·  4 comments  ·  Certification  ·  Admin →
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  11. Safety Training

    What kind of safety training courses are you requiring for personnel (including contractors) considered directly responsible for safety?

    2 votes

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  12. Management of Change

    How does your agency evaluate whether planned changes present safety concerns?

    1 vote

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  13. Safety Performance Monitoring and Measurement

    How does your agency know that your safety risk mitigations are working as intended?

    1 vote

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  14. How to coordinate ASP and SSEPP

    How does FTA anticipate the ASP working together with the System Security and Emergency Preparedness Program Plan (SSEPP)? Can we integrate the SSEPP into the ASP, essentially eliminating it as a document? Alternatively, can we separate safety from security functions and keep two distinct documents?

    1 vote

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  15. Accountable Executive and Board of Directors Approval of State DOT plans

    For State Departments of Transportation drafting Agency Safety Plans for small public transportation providers: How do you plan to work with the providers to ensure they get approval from the Accountable Executive and the Board of Directors or an Equivalent Authority?

    1 vote

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  16. Agency Safety Plan Review

    What agency departments or functions will participate in the review of your Agency Safety Plan?

    1 vote

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  17. 1 vote

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  18. Vanpool clarification/assistance

    It is my understanding that a vanpool operation that receives 5307 capital funding from the large urban provider is required to have a PTASP or participate in the large urban PTASP. What does that look like? Seems like it's overly burdensome to require a 3 staff agency with volunteer drivers to have something this extensive in place. Are there sample policies out there that are more simplified are more specific to a VP operation?

    2 votes

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  19. Monitoring Safety Risk Mitigations

    How will your agency monitor safety risk mitigations?

    2 votes

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  20. 1 vote

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