[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 234 (Thursday, December 6, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68952-68955]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-23632]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Transit Administration

[Docket No: FTA-2007-29075]


National Transit Database: Rural Reporting Manual

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration (FTA), DOT.

ACTION: Final National Transit Database Rural Reporting Manual.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces the availability of the Federal Transit 
Administration's (FTA) National Transit Database (NTD) Rural Reporting 
Manual (Rural Manual). Pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 5335, FTA requires 
recipients of grants under 49 U.S.C. 5311 (Other Than Urbanized Area 
Formula Grants) to provide an annual report to the Secretary of 
Transportation via the NTD reporting system and according to a uniform 
system of accounts (USOA). 49 U.S.C. 5311(4) provides additional 
specifications for annual reporting from recipients of Section 5311 
grants. The Rural Manual provides complete details as to FTA's 
implementation of these annual requirements through reporting to the 
Rural NTD Module. On September 5, 2007, FTA published a notice in the 
Federal Register (72 FR 17564) inviting comments on the proposed Rural 
Manual. This notice provides responses to those comments and announces 
the availability of the final 2007 Rural Manual.

DATES: Effective Date: December 6, 2007.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For program issues, John D. Giorgis, 
Office of Budget and Policy, (202) 366-5430 (telephone); (202) 366-7989 
(fax); or [email protected] (e-mail). For legal issues, Richard 
Wong, Office of the Chief Counsel, (202) 366-0675 (telephone); (202) 
366-3809 (fax); or [email protected] (e-mail).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    The National Transit Database (NTD) is the Federal Transit 
Administration's (FTA's) primary database for statistics on the transit 
industry, and was established by Congress to ``help meet the needs of * 
* * the public for information on which to base public transportation 
service planning * * *'' (49 U.S.C 5335). Recipients of grants under 49 
U.S.C. 5307 (Urbanized Area Formula Grants) or under 49 U.S.C. 5311 
(Other Than Urbanized Area Formula Grants) are required by statute to 
submit data to the NTD. The statute further specifies that recipients 
of Section 5311 Grants are required to submit an annual report 
``containing information on capital investment, operations, and service 
provided with funds received * * * including,
    (A) Total annual revenue;
    (B) Sources of revenue;
    (C) Total annual operating costs;
    (D) Total annual capital costs;
    (E) Fleet size and type, and related facilities;
    (F) Revenue vehicle miles; and
    (G) Ridership.'' (49 U.S.C. 5311)
    The National Transit Database Rural Reporting Manual (Rural Manual) 
provides complete details as to FTA's implementation of these annual 
requirements for recipients of grants under 49 U.S.C. 5311 through 
reporting to the Rural NTD Module.
    Pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 5334, FTA published a Federal Register Notice 
(72 FR 17549) inviting the public to comment on the binding obligations 
contained in the Rural Manual. As provided for in 49 U.S.C. 5335, the 
Rural Manual expands NTD reporting to include recipients of grants 
under 49 U.S.C. 5311 (Other Than Urbanized Area Formula Grants). 
Recipients of these grants include the 50 States, Puerto Rico, American 
Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Marianas. (By statute, the Virgin Islands 
are considered to be an urbanized area for purposes of FTA grant-
making). A number of Indian Tribes are also direct recipients of grants 
under 49 U.S.C. 5311. In addition to fulfilling a statutory 
requirement, these data will be used in the annual National Transit 
Summaries and Trends report, the biennial Conditions and Performance 
Report to Congress, and in meeting FTA's obligations under the 
Government Performance and Results Act.

[[Page 68953]]

    This notice announces the availability of the final Rural Manual on 
the NTD Web site, http://www.ntdprogram.gov.

II. Comments and FTA Response to Comments

    On September 5, 2007, FTA published a notice in the Federal 
Register (72 FR 17459) inviting comments on the proposed Rural Manual. 
FTA received six comments, including two that were filed as comments on 
FTA's Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for 49 CFR part 630, but which FTA 
considered in its review of the Rural Manual. One comment, from a large 
State Department of Transportation (State DOT), merely commended the 
2007 NTD Rural Manual, ``especially the inclusion of an Excel 
spreadsheet * * * to input data.'' FTA hereby responds to the remaining 
five comments in the following order: (a) Reporting Deadlines; (b) 
Intercity Bus Issues; (c) Changes in Reporting Requirements; (d) 
Alignment with Congressional Intent; and (e) Other Comments.
    (a) Reporting Deadlines:
    Two comments expressed concern about the October 28 reporting 
deadline proposed in the Rural Manual for certain reporters. One 
comment suggested a new reporting deadline to be 120 days from the 
publication of the final 2007 Rural Manual.
    FTA Responds: FTA understands this concern, and amends the 2007 
Rural NTD Reporting Deadline to be February 29, 2008, for reporters 
whose 2007 Fiscal Year ended on or before September 30, 2007. The 2007 
Rural NTD Reporting Deadline will continue to be April 30, 2008, for 
those reporters whose 2007 Fiscal Year ended or will end between 
October 1, 2007, and December 31, 2007.
    (b) Intercity Bus Issues:
    Several comments were filed in an earlier docket on FTA's Notice of 
Proposed Rulemaking for 49 CFR part 630, based on a draft version of 
the Rural Manual available at http://www.ntdprogram.gov. One comment 
expressed concern that the Rural NTD did not include a separate mode 
for Intercity Bus. Another comment asked why Section 5311 grants to 
intercity bus subrecipients did not cover both operating grants and 
capital grants.
    FTA Responds: FTA agrees with these commenters and has established 
a separate Intercity Bus mode in the final edition of the Rural Manual. 
FTA has also provided for the collection of both capital grants and 
operating grants to intercity bus subrecipients.
    One comment asked why intercity bus carriers were not required to 
submit fleet data, nor to submit safety data on fatalities, injuries, 
and major incidents.
    FTA Responds: FTA reminds the commenter that these data will be 
collected from State DOTs; intercity bus providers will not be 
reporting directly to the Rural NTD Module. During FTA's outreach in 
development of this module, FTA found that State DOTs did not normally 
collect the same extensive information from intercity bus grant set-
aside subrecipients (which are typically private, for-profit 
corporations), as they collect from typical Section 5311 grant 
subrecipients. FTA has created the streamlined report for subrecipients 
of the intercity bus set-aside in order to minimize reporting burden on 
State DOTs.
    One comment asked if the condensed RU-20 form for intercity bus is 
the only form to be reported for intercity bus subrecipients. This 
comment also asked for clarification as to how subrecipients that 
receive intercity bus set-aside funds, as well as other Section 5311 
funds, should be reported by the State DOT. This comment suggested that 
the streamlined RU-20 form for intercity bus should be reclassified as 
a unique form with its own instructions, and asked for clarification as 
to how intercity bus data are added to the automatically-generated RU-
30 form.
    FTA Responds: FTA clarifies that the intercity bus form is to be 
used only for reporting data on those Section 5311 grant subrecipients 
that receive funds from the intercity bus set-aside pursuant to 49 
U.S.C. 5311(f) and that do not receive any other Section 5311 funds 
from the State DOT. In the event that a single subrecipient receives 
funds both from the intercity bus set-aside pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 
5311(f), as well as from other Section 5311 funds, then the State DOT 
should provide a complete report for that subrecipient on the regular 
RU-20 form. FTA will consider reclassifying the streamlined RU-20 form 
for intercity bus subrecipients with a different form number for the 
2008 Report Year, but declines to do so for the 2007 Report Year in the 
interests of making the Rural Manual available to reporters as 
expeditiously as possible. Instructions on completing both versions of 
the RU-20 form are available through the Rural Manual, through periodic 
NTD training, and through technical assistance from NTD validation 
analysts. FTA notes that intercity bus data appears on the RU-30 form 
in data fields specifically labeled as such, e.g., ``5311 intercity bus 
unlinked passenger trips.''
    (c) Changes in Reporting Requirements:
    Two comments objected to the significant changes in the proposed 
reporting requirements in the Rural Manual from those used in the 2002 
and 2006 Rural NTD Pilot Programs. Both commenters noted that their 
efforts to develop reporting software in order to combine NTD reporting 
requirements with their own State's internal reporting requirements 
were negatively impacted by the change in the proposed reporting 
requirements for the 2007 Report Year from the 2006 Rural NTD data 
collection. One of these comments suggested that data requirements in 
the Rural Manual that were not included in the 2006 Rural NTD data 
collection should be voluntary for the 2007 Report Year.
    FTA Responds: FTA reminds commenters that the 2006 Rural NTD data 
collection was developed prior to the enactment of the Safe, 
Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy 
for Users (SAFETEA-LU.) SAFETEA-LU amended 49 U.S.C. 5311(4) to require 
that recipients of Section 5311 Grants ``submit an annual report * * * 
containing information on capital investment, operations, and service 
provided with funds received under this section, including--
    (A) Total annual revenue;
    (B) Sources of revenue;
    (C) Total annual operating costs;
    (D) Total annual capital costs;
    (E) Fleet size and type, and related facilities;
    (F) Revenue vehicle miles; and
    (G) Ridership.''
    The additional reporting requirements proposed in the Rural Manual 
were designed in large part to conform to these statutory requirements. 
In particular, FTA proposed requesting additional information on 
sources of revenue, fleet size, and fleet type in order to meet these 
requirements.
    FTA declines to make the changed reporting requirements voluntary 
for the 2007 Report Year. FTA reminds the commenters, however, that 
pursuant to 49 CFR Sec.  630.10, reporting entities may request a 
waiver of one or more sections of the reporting requirements if the 
data cannot be reported ``without unreasonable expense and 
inconvenience.'' FTA will consider the expense and inconvenience of 
providing certain data for the first time in evaluating waivers filed 
for the 2007 Report Year.
    (d) Alignment with Congressional Intent:
    Two comments objected to collecting data for individual 
subrecipients of Section 5311 Grants. One comment suggested that FTA 
should only require State DOTs to provide reports directly to

[[Page 68954]]

the RU-30 State Summary Form. FTA is currently proposing to compile the 
RU-30 State Summary Form automatically from the various RU-20 Forms 
completed for each subrecipient by each State DOT. This commenter also 
asked if FTA intends to publish individual subrecipient data.
    FTA Responds: FTA believes that collecting individual subrecipient 
data is in alignment with Congressional intent. FTA notes that 
individual subrecipient data were part of the 2006 Rural NTD data 
collection. Additionally, 49 U.S.C. 5335(b) specifies that FTA may make 
a Section 5311 Grant ``only if the applicant, and any person that will 
receive benefits directly from the grant, are subject to [NTD 
reporting.]'' Subrecipients of Section 5311 Grants are direct 
beneficiaries of these Grants and so are clearly subject to NTD 
reporting by 49 U.S.C. 5335(b). Additionally, many of the specific 
reporting requirements delineated in 49 U.S.C. 5311(4), such as ``total 
annual revenue,'' ``total annual operating costs,'' and ``total annual 
capital costs,'' only make sense in the context of data being provided 
at the subrecipient level. Since most recipients of Section 5311 Grants 
are State DOTs, it seems unlikely that Congress was contemplating that 
the annual report required by 49 U.S.C. 5311(4) should contain, for 
example, the ``total annual revenue'' for a State DOT. Finally, FTA 
notes that under 49 U.S.C. 5335 FTA may ``request and receive 
appropriate information from any source'' for the NTD. ``Any source'' 
includes the subrecipients of Section 5311 Grants. Thus, FTA declines 
to adopt the suggestions to only collect Statewide summary data and not 
to collect individual subrecipient data.
    In response to the question as to whether FTA intends to publish 
individual subrecipient data, FTA does not believe that it has the 
authority to withhold individual subrecipient data from the public. 
Nevertheless, specific data products using the Rural NTD data are still 
under development. The role of individual subrecipient data in public 
data products has not yet been determined by FTA.
    (e) Other Comments:
    One comment asked a number of specific questions regarding the RU-
20 form. This comment asked if a reporter completing the ``Address'' 
line, but not the ``P.O. Box'' line would be considered to have filed 
an incomplete report.
    FTA Responds: No, FTA would not consider such a report to be 
incomplete.
    The comment asked FTA to remove certain reporting lines for total 
revenues and total expenditures, which are currently manually entered, 
and which appear to be duplicated by certain other lines on the RU-20 
form that are automatically calculated.
    FTA Responds: FTA notes that these lines are not actually 
duplicated. Line 5 on the proposed RU-20 asks for ``Total Annual 
Operating Expenses,'' whereas Line 12 auto-calculates the ``Total 
Annual Operating Revenues Expended.'' While these lines will frequently 
be the same, they may be different in the case of a subrecipient that 
is operating at a deficit. The same principle applies to Line 13 
``Annual Capital Costs,'' and Line 18, which auto-calculates the 
``Total Capital Funds Expended.''
    The comment asked FTA to clarify how a reporter should report 
revenue for a subrecipient that is providing service under contract to 
a recipient of Federal funds.
    FTA Responds: Revenues received by a subrecipient for providing 
service under contract should simply be reported as contract revenue. 
It is not necessary for reporters to determine the ultimate source of 
the funds by which the contract was paid.
    The comment asked why the proposed RU-20 form did not provide for 
revenues received from FTA's Section 5303, 5304, and 5307 Grant 
Programs.
    FTA Responds: Recipients of Section 5307 Grants are required to 
report as urbanized area reporters to the NTD. As such, recipients of 
Section 5307 Grants should not be included on a Rural NTD report. In 
rare cases, a subrecipient of Section 5311 Grants may receive Section 
5303 or Section 5304 grants as well. In these rare cases, these monies 
should be reported as ``Other Federal Funds.'' FTA will update the 2007 
Rural Manual to reflect this. Based on 2007 data, FTA will consider 
making a more specific category for these Funds in future years.
    The comment proposed eliminating many of the data elements that FTA 
proposed for asset reporting, namely, vehicle length, seating capacity, 
year of manufacture, largest source of funding, and ownership code.
    FTA Responds: FTA declines to drop the proposed data elements from 
asset reporting. FTA's Section 5311 Program is a major source of 
funding for rural transit capital assets. The proposed data elements 
are essential to understanding the current state of rural transit 
assets and the effectiveness of the Section 5311 Grant Program over 
time. Although there will be some reporting burden associated with the 
asset data in the first year, this burden will be minimized in future 
years by pre-filling data from the previous year's reports into the 
subsequent year's reports. FTA also notes that substantially fewer 
asset data are being requested in the Rural NTD than are requested from 
urbanized area reporters. The NTD requires urbanized area reporters to 
provide vehicle manufacturer, vehicle model number, the rebuild year of 
the vehicle, whether the vehicle is part of the active fleet, vehicle 
fuel type, vehicle standing capacity, lifetime vehicle miles, and the 
total actual vehicle miles for the past year. None of these data 
elements are being requested from Rural NTD reporters.
    The comment questioned the value of collecting the number of 
volunteer drivers, and asked for clarification as to whether volunteer 
vehicles should be reported in the asset data collection.
    FTA Responds: Volunteer drivers represent a pre-funded operating 
expense for rural transit agencies. Whereas paid drivers are accounted 
for in the NTD report as an operating expense, this is the only way to 
account for the value of volunteer drivers. FTA has updated the Rural 
Manual to reflect that volunteer vehicles are to be excluded from the 
capital asset data.
    The comment also asked for clarification on the accounting for 
taxicab trips.
    FTA Responds: FTA recognizes that many rural transit agencies 
supplement their transit service through the use of taxicab trips in 
order to meet the need for transit services. In order to minimize the 
burden to reporters, FTA is not requesting vehicle miles and vehicle 
hours for trips provided by taxicabs. Thus, the trips that are manually 
reported in Line 25 of the RU-20 Form should directly relate to the 
reported vehicle miles and hours. The total trips field in this line is 
an auto-calculated field that will sum all of the trips reported on 
Line 25. FTA has updated the Rural Manual to reflect that the unlinked 
passenger trips manually reported in Line 25 should be exclusive of the 
taxicab trips reported in Line 24.
    The comment suggested that FTA should request vehicle revenue miles 
and vehicle revenue hours, rather than total vehicle miles and total 
vehicle hours.
    FTA Responds: FTA adopts the proposed suggestion, and changes the 
fields on the form to be ``vehicle revenue miles'' and ``vehicle 
revenue hours.'' FTA notes that this change conforms with 49 U.S.C. 
5311(4)(f), which specifies that FTA is to collect revenue vehicle 
miles. Furthermore, in order to minimize reporting burden, FTA has 
updated the guidance in the Rural Manual to indicate that for rural

[[Page 68955]]

demand response systems, all miles and hours from garage departure to 
garage return during revenue service are to be considered ``revenue 
miles'' and ``revenue hours.'' Revenue miles and hours for demand 
response service will continue to exclude miles and hours for training 
and maintenance. Revenue miles and hours for bus service will continue 
to exclude deadhead miles and hours, as well as miles and hours for 
training and maintenance.
    The comment suggested replacing the terms ``Regular Transit Trips'' 
and ``Special Service Trips'' with the terms ``Unlinked Passenger 
Trips,'' and ``Contracted Trips.''
    FTA Responds: FTA adopts the proposal to use the term ``Regular 
Unlinked Passenger Trips.'' FTA has updated the Rural Manual to reflect 
that the term ``unlinked'' only refers to those few rural systems that 
have passenger transfers. FTA has also changed the term ``Contracted 
Trips'' to the term ``Coordinated Unlinked Passenger Trips,'' and has 
updated the Rural Manual to reflect that this refers to those trips 
provided as categorical service under contract.
    The comment expressed concern about the burden of providing 
separate data by mode.
    FTA Responds: FTA notes that although FTA asks if a sub-recipient 
provides fixed-route service or deviated-fixed-route service, FTA 
considers both of these services to be a single mode: the ``Bus'' mode. 
Additionally, FTA notes that only the data on Line 25, containing 
vehicle revenue miles, vehicle revenue hours, unlinked passenger trips, 
and coordinated unlinked passenger trips, is provided by mode. FTA 
believes that reporters should be able to provide this data separately 
for their bus, demand response, and vanpool modes, and that this data 
will be valuable to the public.
    The comment suggested that FTA should be prepared to offer 
extensive training on the Rural NTD.
    FTA Responds: FTA has offered Rural NTD Training in the past, and 
will continue to do so. In particular, FTA offered three Rural NTD 
training sessions in 2007, and has additional training sessions planned 
for 2008.

    Issued in Washington, DC, this 28th day of November 2007.
James S. Simpson,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. E7-23632 Filed 12-5-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-57-P