[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 10 (Thursday, January 15, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Page 1856]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2026-00651]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Transit Administration

[Docket No. FTA-2025-0134]


Rescission of the National Transit Database Weekly Reference 
Reporting Requirement

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration (FTA), Department of 
Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Final notice; response to comments.

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SUMMARY: This notice finalizes and responds to comments on the proposed 
rescission of the National Transit Database's (NTD) Weekly Reference 
(WE-20) reporting requirement.

DATES: Applicable date: January 15, 2026.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Chelsea Champlin, National Transit 
Database Program Manager, FTA Office of Budget and Policy, 202-366-
4000, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    Congress established the NTD to be the Nation's primary source for 
information and statistics on the transit systems of the United States. 
During the COVID-19 pandemic, FTA found it did not have sufficient and 
timely data on transit ridership or transit service levels to inform 
decision-makers during the rapidly changing crisis situation. To better 
understand changes in the transit industry on a timely basis, FTA went 
through the notice and comment process (Docket number FTA-2022-0018) 
pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 5334(k) to, among other things, enable FTA to 
collect additional data from a sample set of modal reports from across 
the universe of full, reduced, tribal, and rural reporters on a weekly 
reference WE-20 Form. FTA finalized the WE-20 reporting requirements in 
March 2023 (88 FR 13497).
    Although the WE-20 reporting requirement provided important data as 
the country recovered from the pandemic, it is not required by statute, 
and after two years of experience with this data collection, FTA 
determined the WE-20 reporting requirement no longer offers sufficient 
value relative to the administrative burden on transit agencies and is 
inconsistent with this Administration's deregulatory priorities.

II. Proposed Recission of the Weekly Reference Reporting Requirement 
(WE-20) and Responses to Comments

    Pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 5334(k), FTA published a notice in the 
Federal Register on November 18, 2025 (90 FR 51809) requesting comments 
on the proposed recission of the WE-20 reporting requirement. The 
comment period closed on December 2, 2025. FTA received five comments 
in support (including three who expressed strong support) of the 
proposal to rescind the required weekly NTD reporting requirement. 
Comments were received from three public transit agencies, a consortium 
consisting of five State Departments of Transportation, and one 
transportation association. Two of the comments in support of the 
change justified the recission by quantifying the time the reporting 
took them away from other critical work, including transit operations, 
planning, and analysis. In addition, the consortium specifically noted 
the filing burden on rural states, where small transit operators have 
limited staff to attend to administrative and regulatory compliance. 
FTA received no comments in opposition or providing additional 
information.
    FTA Response: FTA appreciates the support for this change and will 
move forward with the rescission as proposed. The proposed rescission 
takes effect immediately upon publication of this final notice.

Marcus J. Molinaro,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2026-00651 Filed 1-14-26; 8:45 am]
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