FTA does not require the development of a close call reporting system and it does not use the term close call to establish any 49 C.F.R. Part 673 requirement. As such, it has not established a definition for the term “close call.”

FTA published the Transit Rail Advisory Committee for Safety (TRACS) Working Group 11-01 Report on “Establishing a Confidential, Non-Punitive, Close Call Safety Reporting System for the Rail Transit Industry” on its website here: https://www.transit.dot.gov/regulations-and-guidance/safety/close-call-safety-reporting-11-01. This document may be helpful in understanding terms and general application of close call reporting approaches in the transit industry.

Also, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has sponsored voluntary confidential program allowing railroad carriers and their employees to report close calls. For more information on this program you can visit the FRA’s website here: https://www.fra.dot.gov/Page/P0347.

FTA has not answered the question. What is the definition of a close call in a bus system? How close is close, either time or distance? Is it caused by transit employees or general traffic? Does it include passenger interactions on the bus?

FTA does not specifically define the term “close call” in 49 C.F.R Part 673. However in the preamble to the regulation, FTA states, “'Close call' reporting systems are a type of employee reporting, and FTA strongly supports the establishment of close call reporting systems, although these systems are not required.”