Notice2023-28002
Proposed General Directive 24-1: Required Actions Regarding Assaults on Transit Workers
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
December 20, 2023
Issuing agencies
Transportation DepartmentFederal Transit Administration
Abstract
The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is proposing a General Directive to address the significant and continuing national- level safety risk related to assaults on transit workers. The General Directive would require each transit agency subject to FTA's Public Transportation Agency Safety Plans (PTASP) regulation to conduct a safety risk assessment, identify safety risk mitigations or strategies, and provide information to FTA on how it is assessing, mitigating, and monitoring the safety risk associated with assaults on transit workers. As required by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, each transit agency serving a large urbanized area must involve the joint labor-management Safety Committee when identifying safety risk mitigations.
Full Text
<html>
<head>
<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 243 (Wednesday, December 20, 2023)</title>
</head>
<body><pre>
[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 243 (Wednesday, December 20, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 88213-88217]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-28002]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Transit Administration
[Docket No. FTA-2023-0032]
Proposed General Directive 24-1: Required Actions Regarding
Assaults on Transit Workers
AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration (FTA), Department of
Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Notice of proposed general directive; request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is proposing a
General Directive to address the significant and continuing national-
level safety risk related to assaults on transit workers. The General
Directive would require each transit agency subject to FTA's Public
Transportation Agency Safety Plans (PTASP) regulation to conduct a
safety risk assessment, identify safety risk mitigations or strategies,
and provide information to FTA on how it is assessing, mitigating, and
monitoring the safety risk associated with assaults on transit workers.
As required by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, each transit agency
serving a large urbanized area must involve the joint labor-management
Safety Committee when identifying safety risk mitigations.
DATES: Comments should be filed by February 20, 2024. FTA will consider
comments received after that date to the extent practicable.
ADDRESSES: You may send comments, identified by docket number FTA-2023-
0032, by any of the following methods:
<bullet> Federal eRulemaking Portal: <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>.
Follow the instructions for sending comments.
<bullet> Fax: (202) 493-2251.
<bullet> Mail: Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building Ground Floor,
Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590-0001.
<bullet> Hand Delivery/Courier: West Building Ground Floor, Room
W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and
5 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name
(Federal Transit Administration and Docket Number (FTA-2023-0032). All
comments received will be posted without change to <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>, including any personal information provided.
Docket: For internet access to the docket to read background
documents and comments received, go to <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>.
Background documents and comments received may also be viewed at the
U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE, Docket
Operations, M-30, West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, Washington,
DC 20590-0001, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. EST, Monday through Friday,
except Federal holidays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For program matters, contact Stewart
Mader, Office of Transit Safety and Oversight, (202) 366-9677 or
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#64171001130516104a090500011624000b104a030b12"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="87f4f3e2f0e6f5f3a9eae6e3e2f5c7e3e8f3a9e0e8f1">[email protected]</span></a>. For legal matters, contact Heather Ueyama,
Office of Chief Counsel, (202) 366-7374 or <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#6e060b0f1a060b1c401b0b170f030f2e0a011a40090118"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="79111c180d111c0b570c1c00181418391d160d571e160f">[email protected]</span></a>.
Office hours are from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday,
except Federal holidays.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: FTA is seeking comment on a proposed General
Directive to address the significant and continuing nationwide safety
risk associated with assaults on transit workers.\1\ This General
Directive is part of FTA's ongoing comprehensive efforts to improve
transit worker safety. FTA is also undertaking other actions related to
[[Page 88214]]
transit worker safety, including funding research, sponsoring training,
soliciting public input, providing technical assistance. FTA intends to
use information submitted to it pursuant to the General Directive and
other FTA initiatives to inform future FTA actions, including
rulemakings such as the planned Transit Worker and Public Safety rule.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ For purposes of this General Directive, transit worker means
any employee, contractor, or volunteer working on behalf of a
transit agency, who comes into contact with the public while
performing their duties.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Assaults on Transit Workers: National-Level Hazard
From 2008 to 2021, the National Transit Database (NTD) documented
an average of 241 assaults on transit workers major events \2\ per
year, including 192 per year occurring on transit vehicles, 44 per year
occurring in transit revenue facilities, and five per year occurring in
other non-public locations, such as maintenance shops and yards. The
number of reported assaults on transit workers per 100 million vehicle
revenue miles (VRM) increased by an average of eight percent per year
from 2008 to 2021--a 121 percent total increase from the 2008 rate of
assaults on transit workers.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ A major event reported as an assault, defined in the NTD at
the time the data was collected is an unlawful attack by one person
upon another, or homicide where a transit worker received immediate
medical attention away from the scene or died within 30 days of the
event. This includes NTD reporters that are required to report
detailed safety and security data to the NTD (full reporters). Full
reporters include all rail transit agencies and all urban transit
providers with more than 30 vehicles operated in maximum service.
Full reporters account for approximately 86% of all public transit
service reported to the NTD (as measured by vehicle revenue miles).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The NTD data collected and published in this period does not
reflect the number and rate of all assaults on transit workers because
it does not include assaults on transit workers that did not require
medical attention. In the past, NTD reporting requirements focused on
the most serious events that met the NTD ``major event'' reporting
threshold, as defined by the NTD reporting manual. The Bipartisan
Infrastructure Law, enacted as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs
Act (Pub. L. 117-58), significantly expands the data that FTA will
collect through the NTD on assaults on transit workers. To implement
this requirement, FTA recently finalized new NTD reporting requirements
regarding assaults on transit workers on February 23, 2023, (88 FR
11506) and has begun collecting expanded data.
While FTA does not collect data on precursor events to assaults,
industry experts cite anecdotal evidence that assaults on operators are
a product of direct interaction with the public \3\ and that disputes
over fares and other policy enforcement activities are a significant
contributor to assaults on operators.\4\ The Occupational Safety and
Health Administration states that workers who exchange money as part of
their job duties, work in customer service or public service, and work
alone are at higher risk for workplace violence.\5\ Similarly, the
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health found that risk
factors for workplace assault include interaction with the public,
exchanging money, delivering passengers, having a mobile workplace,
working alone, working late or early hours, and working in high-crime
areas or community settings.\6\ Many transit workers who perform their
duties on transit vehicles and in revenue facilities, such as vehicle
operators, station agents, and maintenance workers, perform their
duties in such conditions.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\3\ <a href="https://www.transit.dot.gov/sites/fta.dot.gov/files/Final_TRACS_Assaults_Report_14-01_07_06_15_pdf_rv6.pdf">https://www.transit.dot.gov/sites/fta.dot.gov/files/Final_TRACS_Assaults_Report_14-01_07_06_15_pdf_rv6.pdf</a>.
\4\ <a href="https://www.cutr.usf.edu/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/TCRP-Synthesis-93-Report.pdf">https://www.cutr.usf.edu/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/TCRP-Synthesis-93-Report.pdf</a>.
\5\ <a href="https://www.osha.gov/workplace-violence">https://www.osha.gov/workplace-violence</a>.
\6\ <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/96-100/default.html">https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/96-100/default.html</a>.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Respondents to FTA's 2021 Request for Information (RFI) on transit
worker safety \7\ proposed numerous actions applicable across various
types of agencies to protect transit workers from assault. These
proposals included reducing bus operator involvement in fare and other
policy enforcement; increasing frontline worker training on customer
service, policy enforcement, and de-escalation; and changing bus
designs to use barriers, among other mitigations. Responses also
indicated that any new requirements for safety risk mitigations should
be broad and flexible enough to work for transit agencies of all sizes
and across all modes.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\7\ <a href="https://www.regulations.gov/docket/FTA-2021-0012/comments">https://www.regulations.gov/docket/FTA-2021-0012/comments</a>.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Based on this information, FTA has determined that there is a
national-level hazard \8\ that transit workers must interact with the
public, and, at times, must clarify or enforce agency policies, which
presents a risk of transit workers being assaulted on transit vehicles
and in revenue facilities.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\8\ FTA has defined hazard to mean 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. 49
CFR 673.5. A national-level hazard is one that exists at transit
agencies across the country.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Previous FTA Efforts To Address Assaults on Transit Workers
In a 2019 Federal Register notice (84 FR 24196) FTA highlighted
that in cases where a transit agency identifies hazards associated with
assaults on transit operators, the PTASP regulation (49 CFR part 673)
requires the agency to use the SMS Safety Risk Management (SRM)
processes documented in its Agency Safety Plan (ASP) to assess the
associated safety risk and, based on the results of the safety risk
assessment, identify safety risk mitigations or strategies as necessary
to address the safety risk.
In 2021, concerned about the continued rise in reported assaults on
transit workers, FTA analyzed through its internal SRM process the
hazard that transit workers must interact with the public, and, at
times, must clarify or enforce agency policies. FTA conducted a safety
risk assessment to determine the likelihood and severity of two
potential consequences of this hazard: assaults on transit workers on
board transit vehicles, and assaults on transit workers in revenue
facilities.
The SRM process helps FTA determine effective and appropriate risk
mitigations, such as technical assistance or regulatory responses, to
support transit agencies in cultivating safer environments for their
workers and riders. To support this SRM process, FTA established a
likelihood scale, severity scale, and risk matrix for conducting a
safety risk assessment for each identified potential consequence of a
hazard. FTA uses these scales and risk matrix to determine a risk
rating that helps FTA, if needed, develop its recommendations for
safety risk mitigation.
FTA's Sample Safety Risk Assessment Matrices for Bus Transit
Agencies \9\ and Sample Safety Risk Assessment Matrices for Rail
Transit Agencies \10\ illustrate how a safety risk assessment matrix
provides a structured approach to assess the likelihood and severity of
the consequences of identified hazards, determine if the safety risk is
acceptable with existing mitigations, or if additional action is
needed, and prioritize hazards based on the safety risk of their
potential consequences. FTA's risk matrix is depicted in Figure 1
below.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\9\ <a href="https://www.transit.dot.gov/regulations-and-guidance/safety/public-transportation-agency-safety-program/sample-safety-risk">https://www.transit.dot.gov/regulations-and-guidance/safety/public-transportation-agency-safety-program/sample-safety-risk</a>.
\10\ <a href="https://www.transit.dot.gov/regulations-and-guidance/safety/public-transportation-agency-safety-program/sample-safety-risk">https://www.transit.dot.gov/regulations-and-guidance/safety/public-transportation-agency-safety-program/sample-safety-risk</a>-0.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
[[Page 88215]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN20DE23.009
Potential Consequence 1: Transit Workers Are Assaulted on Transit
Vehicles
The first potential consequence of the hazard discussed above is
that transit workers are assaulted on transit vehicles. To assess
likelihood, FTA reviewed NTD major event reports from 2008 through 2020
that involved assaults on transit workers on transit vehicles
throughout the country. Over the twelve-year period of 2008-2019,\11\
there were 2,225 major event reports matching the potential
consequence, an average of 185 events per year. 1,805 (81 percent) of
these occurred at bus modes, with the remaining 420 (19 percent) at
rail modes. Due to the frequency of occurrence, the FTA determined a
likelihood rating of Very High (5).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\11\ 2020 NTD safety and security data was preliminary and
subject to revision at the time of FTA's review. Therefore, the
analysis results presented here do not include 2020 data.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
To assess severity, FTA reviewed the severity of the events
referenced in the likelihood analysis. These events resulted in three
fatalities and 2,232 injuries.\12\ All three fatalities and 1,806 (81
percent) of injuries resulted from assaults on transit workers on
buses, while the remaining 426 injuries (19 percent) resulted from
assaults on transit workers on rail vehicles. NTD event data from 2017
and later include information on the severity of injuries when rail
modes reported assaults; over 98 percent of injuries from these
assaults were minor. Because of this, FTA determined a severity rating
of C. While there have been some instances of worker homicides and
severe injuries in vehicles, the majority of these events result in a
minor injury.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\12\ The number of injuries (2,232) exceeds the number of
assault major events (2,225) because an assault event can result in
multiple injuries.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Potential Consequence 2: Transit Workers Are Assaulted in Revenue
Facilities
The second potential consequence of the hazard discussed above is
that transit workers are assaulted in revenue facilities. To assess
likelihood, FTA reviewed NTD major event reports from 2008 through 2020
that involved assaults on transit workers in revenue facilities
throughout the country. Over the twelve-year period of 2008-2019,\13\
there were 674 major event reports matching this potential consequence,
an average of 56.17 events per year. 549 (81 percent) of these occurred
at rail modes, with the remaining 125 (19 percent) at bus modes. Due to
the rate of occurrence, FTA determined a likelihood rating of Very High
(5).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\13\ 2020 NTD safety and security data was preliminary and
subject to revision at the time of FTA's review. Therefore, the
analysis results presented here do not include 2020 data.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
To assess severity, FTA reviewed the severity of the events
referenced in the likelihood analysis. These events resulted in two
fatalities and 732 injuries. A single fatality and 599 (82 percent) of
injuries resulted from assaults on transit workers in rail revenue
facilities, while the remaining 133 injuries (18 percent) and one
fatality resulted from assaults on transit workers in bus revenue
facilities. NTD event data from 2017 and later include information on
the severity of injuries from assaults on transit workers in rail
revenue facilities; over 95 percent of injuries from these assaults
were minor. Because of this, FTA determined a severity rating of C.
While there have been some instances of transit worker homicides and
severe injuries in revenue facilities, the majority of these events
resulted in a minor injury.
Based on the risk ratings of the two identified potential
consequences, FTA determined an overall risk rating of 5C, as noted in
Figure 2. This risk rating reflects that the safety risk associated
with assaults on transit workers is high.
[[Page 88216]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN20DE23.010
In addition, as part of FTA's overall goal of reducing assaults on
transit workers, FTA analyzed data on assaults on transit workers
reported to the NTD between 2016 and 2021. Through this analysis, FTA
determined that nine transit agencies accounted for 79% of all assaults
on transit workers reported to the NTD. FTA issued Special Directives
\14\ to these agencies on October 4, 2023, to determine whether and how
these agencies are addressing safety risk related to assaults on
transit workers using their SMS processes and to determine if
additional FTA intervention is necessary to mitigate the safety risk
related to assaults on transit workers.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\14\ <a href="https://www.transit.dot.gov/regulations-and-guidance/safety/fta-special-directives#SDTWA">https://www.transit.dot.gov/regulations-and-guidance/safety/fta-special-directives#SDTWA</a>.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
FTA reviewed and analyzed the information received from these
agencies. Of the nine agencies that received the Special Directives,
only four reported the completion of a safety risk assessment prior to
issuance of the Special Directives. This is troubling because, as noted
above, FTA has previously alerted transit agencies of the need to
address the risk of assaults on transit operators when identified
through SMS. If these agencies have not completed a safety risk
assessment, FTA is concerned that other transit agencies may not have
done so either, despite the presence of the risk of assaults on transit
workers on the systems they operate.
Safety risk assessment is a required step of a transit agency's SRM
process.\15\ Moreover, safety risk assessment is a critical tool to
understand the risk associated with assaults on transit workers and to
help each agency and joint-labor management Safety Committee prioritize
and develop safety risk mitigations. The importance of the safety risk
assessment step of SRM is further underscored by its use by FTA to
assess national-level safety risk. Now, based on the available safety
data, FTA's determination of a 5C risk rating reflecting a high
nationwide risk of assaults on transit workers, and the results of the
Special Directives, FTA has concluded that additional FTA intervention
is necessary to address the safety risk related to assaults on transit
workers nationwide.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\15\ 49 CFR 673.25(c).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Purpose of General Directive
As discussed above, FTA has determined that there is a national-
level hazard that transit workers must interact with the public, and,
at times, must clarify or enforce agency policies. FTA has identified
that the potential consequences of this hazard are that transit workers
may be assaulted on transit vehicles and in revenue facilities.
Pursuant to 49 CFR 673.25(b), a transit agency must consider, as a
source for hazard identification, data and information provided by FTA.
FTA has determined that the national-level hazard and potential
consequences discussed above constitute an unsafe condition or practice
presenting a risk of death or personal injury for transit workers.
Accordingly, pursuant to 49 CFR 670.25, FTA proposes issuing a General
Directive that directs agencies to take action to address the
identified national-level hazard and the potential consequences.
FTA proposes that the General Directive require each transit agency
that is required to have an Agency Safety Plan (ASP) under the PTASP
regulation (49 CFR part 673) to use the Safety Risk Management (SRM)
processes documented in its ASP to conduct a safety risk assessment
related to assaults on transit workers on the public transportation
system it operates. FTA is proposing that if a transit agency has
conducted a safety risk assessment related to assaults on transit
workers in the twelve months preceding the date of issuance of the
final General Directive, and if the transit agency continues to believe
that the results of that safety risk assessment are relevant, the
transit agency need not conduct a new assessment. FTA also proposes to
require each transit agency to use the SRM processes documented in its
ASP to identify safety risk mitigations or strategies necessary as a
result of the agency's safety risk assessment. As required by the
Bipartisan Infrastructure Law at 49 U.S.C. 5329(d)(5), each transit
agency serving a large urbanized area must involve the joint labor-
management Safety Committee when identifying safety risk mitigations to
reduce the likelihood and severity of consequences identified through
the agency's safety risk assessment. The General Directive would also
require each transit agency to provide information to FTA on how it is
assessing, mitigating, and monitoring the safety risk associated with
assaults on transit workers within 60 days of issuance of the final
General Directive. FTA notes that this proposed directive is intended
to work in conjunction with OSHA protections and is not intended to
preempt OSHA's standards or other enforcement authority.
FTA is proposing this approach as it is grounded in SMS principles
and methods, which FTA has adopted as the basis for enhancing public
transportation safety. See 49 CFR 670.3. Further, FTA believes this
approach will ensure that each transit agency is taking a formal look
at the safety risk related to assaults on transit workers on their
system. FTA also believes this approach will contribute to transit
agencies and their joint labor-management Safety Committees identifying
scalable and effective mitigations across the range of services they
provide and situations that contribute to the risk of assaults on
transit workers. FTA proposes that each transit agency provides FTA
[[Page 88217]]
information on how it is assessing, mitigating, and monitoring the
safety risk associated with assaults on transit workers, which FTA may
use to inform future Federal action to protect transit workers.
FTA is proposing to issue this General Directive to all transit
agencies required to have an ASP under the PTASP regulation because FTA
has determined that the hazard that transit workers must interact with
the public, and, at times, must clarify or enforce agency policies,
exists at transit agencies of all sizes and across all modes of public
transportation, not just those in large urbanized areas.
The proposed General Directive contains proposed binding
obligations, which 49 U.S.C. 5334(k) defines as ``a substantive policy
statement, rule, or guidance document issued by the Federal Transit
Administration that grants rights, imposes obligations, produces
significant effects on private interests, or effects a significant
change in existing policy.'' Under 49 U.S.C. 5334(k) FTA may issue
binding obligations if it follows notice and comment rulemaking
procedures under 5 U.S.C. 553.
FTA requests public comment on this proposed General Directive,
which is available on the FTA website at <a href="https://www.transit.dot.gov/regulations-and-guidance/safety/fta-general-directives">https://www.transit.dot.gov/regulations-and-guidance/safety/fta-general-directives</a> and in Docket
No. FTA-2023-0032. Following an analysis of the public comments, FTA
will publish a notice in the Federal Register that includes both a
response to comments and announces a final General Directive or a
statement rescinding or revising the proposed General Directive.
Authority: 49 U.S.C. 5329; 49 CFR 1.91, 670.25.
Veronica Vanterpool,
Deputy Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2023-28002 Filed 12-19-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-57-P
</pre><script data-cfasync="false" src="/cdn-cgi/scripts/5c5dd728/cloudflare-static/email-decode.min.js"></script></body>
</html>Indexed from Federal Register on December 20, 2023.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.