Watch out WMATA! Feds get serious about Transit Safety; Propose Federal safety oversight of all Transit systems
(Source: Washington Post; Bloomberg)
The Obama administration will propose that the federal government take over safety regulation of the nation’s subway and light-rail systems, responding to what it says is haphazard and ineffective oversight by state agencies.
Under the proposal, the U.S. Department of Transportation would do for transit what it does for airlines and Amtrak: set and enforce federal regulations to ensure that millions of passengers get to their destinations safely. Administration officials said the plan will be presented in coming weeks to Congress, which must approve a change in the law.
The proposal would affect every subway and light-rail system in the country, including large systems in Washington, New York, Boston, Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Administration officials said they are responding to a growing number of collisions, derailments and worker fatalities on subways — and in particular to the fatal June 22 crash on Metro’s Red Line and failures in oversight that have surfaced in its wake. Those failures have been the subject of an ongoing investigative series in The Washington Post.
Recent transit accidents in Washington, San Francisco, Boston and Chicago have resulted in more than 200 injuries. Following the Washington Metro crash on June 22 that killed nine, Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood formed a group to look at safety.
The safety review gained added importance as President Barack Obama has stressed expanding subway use as a way to reduce traffic congestion and the country’s dependence on foreign oil.
In the absence of federal oversight, states created 27 agencies that lack the adequate staff, expertise and money to do their jobs, the transportation official said.
The proposal would let the federal government provide money for employee salaries and benefits, training, certification and travel costs to state agencies able to do safety oversight, according to the document.
The Federal Transit Administration would regulate those systems in states that decide not to accept the federal funding or are determined to be inadequate, according to the question- and-answer document.
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