Broward County Commission Regular Meeting
Director's Name: Coree Cuff Lonergan
Department: Transportation
Information
Requested Action
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MOTION TO ADOPT Resolution of the Board of County Commissioners of Broward County, Florida, approving the Fiscal Year 2025 Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan (PTASP).
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Why Action is Necessary
Broward County is a recipient of financial assistance under the Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) Urbanized Area Formula Grants Program (49 U.S.C. § Section 5307) and in accordance with FTA regulations, the Board, as the governing body for Broward County and for the Transportation Department (BCT), who is the operator of public transit service, is required to approve BCT’s Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan (PTASP) annually.
What Action Accomplishes
Approves the Fiscal Year 2025 Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan (PTASP) for BCT which has been updated with new FTA requirements.
Goal Related Icon(s)
☐County Commission
☐Go Green
☐MAP Broward
Previous Action Taken
September 10, 2020, Item No. 7
December 12, 2023, Item No. 28
Summary Explanation/Background
THE TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT RECOMMENDS APPROVAL OF THE ABOVE MOTION.
The Public Transportation Agency Safety Plans (PTASP) regulation (49 CFR Part 673) requires operators of public transportation systems that receive federal funds under the FTA Urbanized Area Formula Grants (Section 5307) to develop an Agency Safety Plan (ASP) that includes the processes and procedures to implement a Safety Management System (SMS). SMS is a comprehensive, collaborative, and systematic approach to managing safety. The goal is to create a proactive and cooperative safety culture in the organization which includes a joint Labor/Management Safety Committee, employee participation, safety data collection and analysis, the development and implementation of risk management strategies, and organization-wide safety communication. BCT is responsible for maintaining a coordinated safety system in order to identify and prevent unsafe behaviors and conditions that present a potential danger or threat to public safety. As the public transportation provider for Broward County and recipient of FTA funds, BCT’s PTASP must be reviewed, updated, and approved by the transit agency’s governing body annually.
As background, on September 10, 2020, Item No. 7, the Board approved the Transportation Department’s (BCT) initial PTASP. On December 12, 2023, the Board approved BCT’s 2024 PTASP which was updated to include new FTA requirements resulting from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The new requirements included a requirement that the Safety Committee (SC) be composed of equal membership (50/50) of frontline employee representatives and management representatives and the SC’s approval of any updates to the PTASP; ensuring that the agency’s comprehensive safety training program includes maintenance personnel as well as de-escalation training for maintenance, operations, and safety staff; and using SMS to protect transit workers from assaults and mitigate their exposure to infectious diseases. It also provided for updated safety and risk reduction performance targets.
BCT’s FY2025 PTASP has been updated to include the FTA National Transit Database definition of “Collisions.” The PTASP is posted on BCT’s website at www.broward.org/bct <http://www.broward.org/bct> under reports and data.
The BCT Joint Labor/Management Safety Committee, which includes members of both the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) and Government Supervisor’s Association (GSA), reviewed and approved the plan on October 25, 2024.
Source of Additional Information
Coree Cuff Lonergan, Director, Transportation Department (954) 357-8361
Fiscal Impact
Fiscal Impact/Cost Summary
None.