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Improving the safety of your rail transit ride

America’s rail transit systems already offer one of the safest ways to travel about your local community, and we at the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) are working to make public transportation by rail even safer.

That's why, last Friday, Secretary Foxx announced a new proposed rule that will improve, modernize and transform rail transit safety oversight to help ensure the increased level of safety expected by the millions of passengers who use rail transit every day.

U.S. Department of Transportation Announces $5 Million to Improve Transit Options for American Indians, Alaska Natives on Tribal Lands

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration (FTA) today announced the availability of $5 million in competitive grant funds to enhance public transit service for American Indians, Alaska natives and other residents on rural tribal lands. Funding is provided through FTA’s Public Transportation on Indian Reservations Tribal Transit Program. A Notice of Funding Availability appears in today’s Federal Register.

Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act

MAP-21 Webinars

With the passage of MAP-21, the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (P.L. 112-141), and the release of the July 31, 2012 Notice of Funding Availability, DOT has sponsored a series of Webinars addressing implementation of the provisions related to the TIFIA program. On this page, you will find links to the most recent version of the slides used for the Webinar (slight revisions were made in the posted version).

In the “Last Frontier,” transportation must be a shared effort

Last week, I flew North – way North – to Alaska and visited everywhere from Anchorage to the small fishing village of Unalakleet to Nome, where the Iditarod dogsled race finishes each year.

Everywhere I went, I witnessed the natural beauty of Alaska’s terrain, but I also saw how difficult traversing that terrain can be.

All states have unique transportation needs, of course. But because of its size, its geography, and its climate, Alaska’s needs are more unique than most. And that’s what I went to discuss: How the federal government can help Alaskans meet their local needs. 

FTA's Transit Safety office celebrates productive first year

At DOT, safety has always been our first priority, but it wasn’t until two years ago that the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) was finally granted the authority to oversee the safety of all of America’s individual public transportation systems. While NHTSA oversees all of the nation’s cars, and FHWA ensures the safety of your roads and bridges, there was no federal role when it came to the nation’s subways, inter-city buses and other forms of public transit until 2012. 

We got to work right away.  One of the agency’s first steps in establishing our authority was to set up a new Office of Transit Safety and Oversight (TSO), which marked its first birthday last week.

The importance of safety in public transit was brought into stark relief on June 22, 2009, when a faulty signal resulted in a Metro rail accident in Washington, DC, that killed nine and injured dozens more. Although a rare occurrence, the tragic Fort Totten crash helped galvanize a bipartisan effort in Congress that responded to President Obama’s call for a Federal role in transit safety oversight.

In its first year, TSO has been working hard to put in place the policies and skilled team needed to help make a safe mode of travel even safer...

Photo of MBTA Green Line

News Digest DOT 37-14

FMCSA Initiates Rulemaking Process to Update the Financial Responsibility of Commercial Carriers and Better Protect the Public. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has reported to Congress that current financial responsibility minimums for the commercial motor vehicle industry are inadequate to meet the costs of some crashes.

National Online Dialogue for MAP-21 Section 1305 - Programmatic Approaches

Welcome to FHWA and FTA’s National Online Dialogue webpage for MAP-21’s Section 1305 rulemaking on expanding the use of Programmatic Approaches in environmental decision-making!

MAP-21 Section 1305 requires FHWA and FTA to initiate a rulemaking to allow for the use of programmatic approaches that are consistent with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and other applicable laws to conduct environmental reviews.  FHWA and FTA are conducting outreach to these stakeholders through a national online dialogue and targeted listening sessions. Following completion of the outreach process, the Agencies will initiate a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that provides interested parties with the opportunity to comment on proposed new and/or modified Agency regulations.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce knows it; we need to build

Just about every mayor in America can tell a story about a business considering locating in his or her city, with hundreds, sometimes thousands of jobs in the balance. Invariably, the business representative will bring up a road, a curb cut, or bridge that needs to be built or repaired to make a potential site work.

This morning, I had the opportunity to speak to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and my message to those business leaders was the same as it was when I was a mayor: "We want to build the transportation infrastructure that supports the economic growth and jobs you create."

Photo of Secretary Foxx at his ceremonial swearing-in during July 2014

The Future of Transportation: Partnership and Collaboration

Between Communities, Across Modes

Each year, the Transportation Research Board's Annual Meeting brings thousands of professionals to Washington, DC, to discuss an extraordinary range of transportation topics from the 30,000-foot policy view down to the minute details of pavement performance data. It's a real highlight of the calendar for many in the transportation community, including a lot of us here at DOT.

If you attended TRB this week, you probably heard the words "partnership" and "collaborate" more than once. And if you work in transportation, you'll probably be hearing a lot more of them.

COllage of logos from various M.P.O. across the U.S.

State legislators know the value of transportation investments

When we talk in Washington, DC, about the challenge of financing the transportation maintenance and improvements needed in every state in America, members of the National Conference of State Legislators (NCSL) know exactly what we mean.

After all, our state legislators are the ones who have to figure out how to stretch a budget so their state can modernize a key airport. They're the ones who have to cast the difficult votes that mean their state can fix one road but not another...

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