Agenda Item Wording:
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Approval of Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan - Approval of the Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan (PTASP) and authorize the City Manager to sign on behalf of Visalia Transit and to annually review and approve.
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Submitting Department: Administration – Transit Division
Prepared by:
Caleb Bowman, Transit Management Analyst, Caleb.Bowman@visalia.city, (559)713-4594
Angelina Baker, Transit Manager, Angelina.Baker@visalia.gov, (559)713-4591
John Lollis, Assistant City Manager, John.Lollis@visalia.city, (559)713-4323
Department Recommendation:
Staff recommends that the City Council approve the draft Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan (PTASP) and authorize the City Manager to sign on behalf of Visalia Transit and to annually review and approve.
Summary:
In compliance with Federal Transit Administration (FTA) regulations, City staff has developed a new PTASP in conjunction with the new contractor RATP Dev USA (RATP). The previous adopted PTASP was developed in conjunction with the previous contractor Transdev, then First Transit, which included policies and procedures specific to First Transit. This is a draft PTASP since staff is waiting on data from the prior fiscal year, July 2024 through June 2025, for actual counts and to estimate the Fiscal Year 2025-26 targets, however, the policies and procedures will not change.
Background Discussion:
On July 19, 2018, the FTA published the PTASP Final Rule, which requires certain operators of public transportation systems that receive federal funds under FTA's Urbanized Area (UZA) Formula Grants to develop safety plans that include the processes and procedures to implement Safety Management Systems (SMS). The FTA published a Notice of Enforcement Discretion on April 22, 2020, effectively extending the PTASP compliance deadline from July 20, 2020 to December 31, 2020. The rule applies to all operators of public transportation systems that are recipients and sub-recipients of federal financial assistance under the UZA Formula Program (49 U.S.C. § 5307).
Visalia Transit is required by the FTA to have a PTASP as recipients of federal funding. The plan was developed in conjunction with RATP policies and procedures, since they operate Visalia Transit’s service. Although RATP policies and procedures, it is the City’s sole responsibility to hold the contractor accountable and ensure the safety plan is being followed. The PTASP addresses both Visalia Transit’s and the contractor’s staff roles and responsibilities, safety and training policies, reporting and communication of incidents, and safety performance targets.
Reviewing safety practices is an ongoing process as policies/procedures and training techniques change over time and changes are communicated throughout the organization. All changes throughout the year are reviewed and approved by the City’s Transit Manager and the contractor’s General Manager. The beginning of each fiscal year (July 1st), Visalia Transit’s PTASP is reviewed by Transit management and revised based on the safety data collected and analyzed, and changes to policies and procedures made throughout the year by either Visalia Transit or the contractor. The plan will be reviewed and approved annually by the City’s Transit Manager and City Manager no later than August 20th of each year starting in 2026. New safety performance targets will be created during the annual review process. The approved PTASP, including the safety performance targets, will be transmitted to the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) and the Tulare County Association of Governments (TCAG) by September 1st of each year.
Fiscal Impact: N/A
Prior Council Action:
December 21, 2020: Approval of the Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan
Other: N/A
Alternatives: N/A
Recommended Motion (and Alternative Motions if expected):
recommendation
I move to approve the draft Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan and authorize the City Manager to sign on behalf of Visalia Transit and to annually review and approve.
Environmental Assessment Status: N/A
CEQA Review: N/A
Deadline for Action: 9/2/2025
Attachments: Draft Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan