[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 162 (Thursday, August 21, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49557-49559]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-19787]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Transit Administration

[FTA Docket No. FTA-2014-0009]


Notice of Request for Comments on Updates to National Transit 
Database Safety Information Collection

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Notice of Request for Comments.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this 
notice announces the intention of the Federal Transit Administration 
(FTA) to request the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to approve 
the revision of the currently approved information collection: 49 
U.S.C. 5335(a) and (b) National Transit Database (NTD). The guidance 
changes in this notice primarily relate to urbanized area transit 
providers.

DATES: Comments must be submitted before October 20, 2014.

ADDRESSES: To ensure that your comments are not entered more than once 
into the docket, submit comments identified by the docket number by 
only one of the following methods:
    1. Web site: www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for 
submitting comments on the U.S. Government electronic docket site. All 
electronic submissions must be made to the U.S. Government electronic 
docket site at www.regulations.gov. Commenters should follow the 
directions below for mailed and hand-delivered comments.
    2. Fax: 202-366-7951.
    3. Mail: U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue 
SE., Docket Operations, M-30, West Building, Ground Floor, Room W12-
140, Washington, DC 20590-0001.
    4. Hand Delivery: U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New 
Jersey Avenue SE., Docket Operations, M-30, West Building, Ground 
Floor, Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590-0001 between 9 a.m. and 5 
p.m., Monday through Friday, except federal holidays.
    5. Instructions: You must include the agency name and docket 
number, FTA-2014-0009 for this notice, at the beginning of your 
comments. Submit two copies of your comments if you submit them by 
mail. For confirmation that FTA has received your comments, include a 
self-addressed stamped postcard. Note that all comments received, 
including any personal information, will be posted and will be 
available to Internet users, without change, to www.regulations.gov. 
You may review DOT's complete Privacy Act Statement in the Federal 
Register published April 11, 2000, (65 FR 19477), or at 
www.regulations.gov.
    6. Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents 
and comments received, go to www.regulations.gov at any time. 
Background documents and comments received may also be viewed at the 
U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Docket 
Operations, M-30, West Building, Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 
Washington, DC 20590-0001 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through 
Friday, except federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Keith R. Gates, National Transit 
Database Program Manager, FTA Office of Budget and Policy, (202) 366-
1794, or email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Interested parties are invited to send 
comments regarding any aspect of this information collection, 
including: (1) The necessity and utility of the information collection 
for the proper performance of the functions of FTA; (2) ways to enhance 
the quality, utility, and clarity of the collected information; and (3) 
ways to minimize the collection burden without reducing the quality of 
the collected information. Comments submitted in response to this 
notice will be summarized and/or included in a final notice to be 
published in the Federal Register along with FTA responses, where 
appropriate.
    Title: 49 U.S.C. 5335(a) and (b) National Transit Database. (OMB 
Number: 2132-0008).
    Background: Section 5335(a) and (b) of title 49, United States 
Code, requires the Secretary of Transportation to maintain a reporting 
system, using a uniform system of accounts, to collect financial and 
operating information from the nation's public transportation systems. 
Congress authorized the NTD to be the repository of national transit 
data to support public transportation service planning. FTA administers 
the NTD to meet these requirements, and has collected data for over 30 
years. The NTD is comprised of the Annual, Rural, Monthly, and Safety & 
Security modules. This notice proposes various changes specific to the 
Safety & Security module.
    Approximately 550 urban transit systems currently report to the NTD 
Safety & Security Module. Each system provides an annual report on the 
total number of security personnel, and an annual CEO certification of 
the safety data. Each month, transit systems provide a summary report 
of all minor fires and all incidents resulting in single-person 
injuries due to slips, falls, or electrical shocks. Systems must also 
provide a major incident report within 30 days of any incident 
involving one or more fatalities, one or more injuries, or total 
property damage in excess of $25,000.
    In sum, the 550 urban transit systems report about 6,000 major 
incident reports per year in addition to 12 minor incident summary 
reports per year. This

[[Page 49558]]

reporting activity is within the level that received Paperwork 
Reduction Act (PRA) approval as part of the entire NTD PRA notice 
published in the Federal Register on November 7, 2011 (76 FR 6881).
    This notice proposes various changes to the NTD Safety & Security 
module that would take effect with the CY 2015 data reporting cycle. 
FTA seeks comment on whether, and how, agencies reporting this data 
might experience difficulties meeting the revised requirements.
    The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) and the U.S. 
Department of Transportation (DOT) Office of the Inspector General 
(OIG) reviewed FTA procedures for collecting safety data from transit 
providers and recommended that FTA develop and implement appropriate 
internal control activities to ensure data entered into the State 
Safety Oversight (SSO) reporting templates are accurate. Additionally, 
the GAO and the OIG recommended appropriate internal controls over the 
methods used to review and reconcile the SSO agency data with other 
data sources. The changes proposed here address these recommendations 
and will enhance non-rail NTD safety data reporting to allow better 
time series analysis and evaluation of safety trends. These changes 
also support requirements in Section 20025(b) of the Moving Ahead for 
Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21) that FTA improve the accuracy 
and reliability of public transportation safety incident data. Aligning 
the NTD and the SSO reporting thresholds and definitions will assist 
FTA in meeting this requirement and will enable analysis and evaluation 
of safety trends.
    Although this notice proposes changes intended to better align the 
NTD safety data collection with data that is collected by State Safety 
Oversight organizations, it is independent of the larger rulemaking 
process that is underway to define FTA safety regulatory procedures. It 
is, likewise, not a part of transit asset management rulemaking or any 
other FTA rulemaking activities. Nothing in this notice should be 
construed as being a preliminary part of other FTA oversight 
activities.
    FTA proposes NTD reporting changes as follows:
    1. Change in nomenclature, incidents reported to the NTD will now 
be called ``events'';
    2. Change in location criteria for reportable events;
    3. Change in evacuation reporting criteria to include self-
evacuations and maintenance-related evacuations;
    4. Change in derailment reporting to include yard derailments;
    5. Change in collision reporting requirements to include collisions 
at grade crossings;
    6. Change in collision reporting requirements to include all rail 
collisions with individuals;
    7. Change in collision reporting requirements to include all 
collisions between rail vehicles;
    8. Change in vehicle event reporting to include indication of 
``tow-away'' occurrence;
    9. Change in vehicle event reporting to expand options for 
reporting ``other motor vehicles'';
    10. Change in reporting requirements to expand options for 
reporting ``type of fire''; and
    11. Change in reporting requirements to add latitude and longitude 
fields for events.
    Detailed description of proposed changes:

1. Reportable Event (Clarification)

    Incidents reported to the NTD and the SSO will be called 
``events.'' FTA is suggesting this change because other uses of the 
term ``incident'' are defined as an occurrence that is less severe than 
an accident or imply a security event. ``Event'' in this case is 
intended to include planned and unplanned events that are required to 
be reported to the NTD. This change is necessary to provide better 
alignment with nomenclature used in other transportation modes, and to 
provide clarity during data analysis conducted to identify safety 
trends.

2. Change in Location Criteria

    The NTD currently includes events that are ``related to or affect 
revenue service.'' Consistent with data reported to the SSO program, 
FTA proposes to revise these applicability criteria to ``an event 
occurring on transit right-of-way, in a transit revenue facility, in a 
transit maintenance facility, or involving a transit revenue vehicle, 
excluding occupational safety events occurring in administrative 
buildings.'' Application of these new criteria would mean that the NTD 
will no longer collect events at bus stops that are not on real 
property owned or controlled by the agency, unless the event involves a 
transit revenue vehicle, or boarding/alighting from a transit revenue 
vehicle.

3. Evacuations

    FTA proposes to revise the definition of evacuation to include 
patron/passenger self-evacuations and evacuations for service or 
maintenance-related issues when passengers are evacuated to locations 
where they could potentially be exposed to hazardous situations, such 
as a rail right-of-way, or a highway shoulder lane. These events would 
require a major event report and are consistent with data reported to 
the SSO program.

4. Derailments

    FTA proposes to expand the mandatory reporting of derailments to 
include yard derailments. Yard derailments would be reportable 
regardless of injuries, fatalities, or property damage.

5. Collisions at Grade Crossings

    FTA proposes to make all collisions at grade crossings reportable 
to the NTD in order to improve event reporting consistency. Transit 
agencies are already required to report and investigate these events 
under the existing the SSO Program.

6. Collision With an Individual on a Rail Right-of-Way

    FTA proposes to change the NTD thresholds to capture all rail 
collisions with individuals, regardless of injuries or fatalities; as 
collected in the SSO program. Collisions with individuals that do not 
result in an injury would be reportable to the NTD.

7. Rail to Rail Collisions

    FTA proposes to require a major NTD event report for every event 
involving a collision between rail vehicles. This would extend the 
existing SSO threshold to the NTD to support improvements in data 
quality and reporting. Transit agencies are already required to report 
and investigate these events under the existing SSO program. This 
category is not intended to capture normal connection of vehicles.

8. Addition of ``Tow-Away''

    FTA proposes to add a ``tow-away'' checkbox to the S&S-40 reporting 
form to make vehicle event reporting compatible with the accident 
reporting threshold used by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety 
Administration.

9. Revision to Non-Rail ``Other Motor Vehicle'' and ``Collision Event'' 
Screens

    FTA proposes to add selections for ``other motor vehicle type'' to 
improve FTA's and transit agencies' ability to conduct trend analysis 
of non-rail vehicle collisions. New selections would include: collision 
with an automobile, moped, scooter, motorcycle, charter bus, or school 
bus as a collision with a Motor Vehicle; collision with another 
agency's transit vehicle as a collision with a Motor Vehicle; collision

[[Page 49559]]

with another of your transit agency's vehicles as a collision with a 
transit vehicle.

10. Revision to Non-Rail ``Type of Fire'' Categories on Fire Event 
Detail Screens

    FTA proposes to add selections for ``type of fire'' to the non-rail 
fire event detail screens to provide better national-level information 
for vehicle fire prevention and mitigation.

11. Collect New Data on Geographic Location of Events

    FTA proposes to add fields for latitude and longitude of events. 
This change is necessary for FTA to comply with OMB's ``Open Data 
Policy-Managing Information as an Asset memorandum, M-13-13'', which 
will provide for the creation and maintenance of high-quality, 
nationwide transportation data in the public domain.
    FTA has determined that items 1, 8, and 9 above would not require 
any additional reporting effort. Items 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 10 would 
require that some additional data be reported, but the increase is 
expected to be minimal as situations where these events are not 
reported under current rules are relatively rare. Item 11, reporting 
latitude and longitude of events, is a new requirement for the NTD, 
though it is now an ubiquitous feature of other accident investigation 
reporting. FTA holds that this additional burden is more than offset by 
reductions in reporting that accrue under item 2, which eliminates the 
need to report events that occur outside this more narrowly defined 
area of interest. The impact of the changes proposed here on the 
reporting burden is expected to be neutral and to remain within the 
currently approved Paperwork Reduction Act collection.

Therese W. McMillan,
Acting Administrator, Federal Transit Administration.
[FR Doc. 2014-19787 Filed 8-20-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-57-P