Officials comment on Public Transportation Safety Act of 2010

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood commended the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee for reporting out the Obama Administration's transit safety bill, the first transit-specific safety bill ever sent to Congress by any administration, by a unanimous vote. The bill now goes to the Senate floor.

Secretary LaHood
applauded Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd, Ranking Member Richard Shelby
and Subcommittee Chairman Robert Menendez for taking the first major step in
passing the Administration’s Public Transportation Safety Act of 2010, a bill
that would end the current prohibition against the Federal Transit
Administration from directly overseeing safety programs.

Secretary LaHood sent the
Administration bill to Congress in December 2009.

"I want to thank the Banking
Committee for working together to move this historic legislation forward," said
Secretary LaHood. "Safety is the Department of Transportation’s number one
priority and we look forward to working with the full Senate and House to get
this bill passed and signed into law."



"Today’s milestone is the
first major step in untying the hands of the Federal Transit Administration and
allowing us to implement national safety standards," said Federal Transit
Administrator Peter Rogoff. "While transit is a safe way to travel, we still
see too many preventable accidents, including fatal accidents. We need these
tools to ensure that transit remains safe as our systems age and experienced
employees retire in increasing numbers."

The legislation, if
passed, will authorize the Department of Transportation to establish federal
safety standards for rail transit systems, reversing a prohibition that has
been in effect since 1965.



In addition to this
bill, Secretary LaHood announced the formation of the Transit Rail Advisory
Committee for Safety on June 23. The 20 individuals who will initially serve on
TRACS represent all geographic regions in the U.S. and include experts from
state transit agencies of all sizes, state safety oversight organizations,
labor unions and industry associations.

The recommendations of TRACS
will help FTA develop new policies and practices and, should FTA be given
authority to promulgate new transit safety requirements, new regulations for
enhancing rail transit safety.

"On behalf of the
American Public Transportation Association, I applaud the Senate Banking
Committee for its work on the Public Transportation Safety Act of 2010 that was
approved by the committee," said APTA President William Millar. "Safety is the
number one priority for the public transportation industry and we welcome the
effort to make one of the safest modes of transportation – rail transit — even
safer. We are encouraged that the Senate Banking Committee worked closely with
the public transit industry as it developed the bill. We look forward to
continuing this dialogue as the legislation advances in the Senate.

"The bill also recognizes
the importance of having capital assets of transit systems in good repair and
of having asset management programs that track capital assets," Millar said. "However,
in order to ensure that transit operators have the most up-to-date vehicles and
facilities, we urge Congress to do several important things. First, it needs to
increase federal investment in public transportation and second, Congress needs
to pass a six-year, surface transportation authorization bill as soon as
possible. The longer we wait for authorization legislation to pass, the longer
it will take to put into place new capital improvements that will provide
greater safety for the millions of people who take public transportation every
day.

"Safety is all about
continuous improvement, and we look forward to working with Congress on this
important legislation," he said.