TRA State Safety Oversight Services
TRA’s team of public transit experts provides state safety oversight consulting to 16 U.S. jurisdictions and their rail transit agencies.
TRA helps state safety oversight agencies ensure compliance with Federal Transit Administration (FTA) requirements (including 49 CFR Part 674), but more importantly, we help both oversight and rail transit agencies take programmatic approaches to increasing the safety of subway, metro, light rail, automated rail, streetcar, and inclined plane systems.
TRA has been at the forefront of state safety oversight (or SSO) since 1990 – seven years prior to the first FTA requirement. Before the first Federal requirement in 1997, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, California, and Florida had state-specific requirements for transit safety oversight programs. TRA helped Pennsylvania to formulate, operate, and administer its program, which later become the model for many aspects of the FTA’s own requirements.
At present, we provide state safety oversight consulting services to:
- Florida (as part of multiple consulting projects covering oversight of rail transit, bus transit, and automated peoplemovers)
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Maryland
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Missouri
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Texas
- Utah
- Virginia
- Washington DC Department of Fire and Emergency Medical Services (overseeing the DC Streetcar)
- Washington Metrorail Safety Commission
- West Virginia
- Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, which runs a voluntary program, not subject to FTA requirements, for its EWR and JFK AirTrain systems
TRA’s Pragmatic Approach to Oversight
While we recognize that safety oversight work requires a somewhat specialized approach and independence from the rail transit agencies being overseen, TRA does strive to maintain a professional, constructive, and positive relationship with the public transit agencies it works with. We have found it to be far more effective to work cooperatively with transit agencies where possible and to avoid unnecessary gotcha interactions.
We also believe that our team of public transit practitioners – people who have worked in oversight projects, directly for transit agencies, and in consulting assignments for those agencies – provides the most practical and pragmatic results in our oversight projects.
SSO Tasks and Services We Provide
Depending on client needs, TRA can provide a broad spectrum of support services to state and oversight clients, including
- Formulating and startup of new state safety oversight programs and ensuring compliance with FTA requirements including 49 CFR Parts 671, 672, 673, and 674
- Planning and orchestrating key SSO program elements, including program standards and procedures, risk-based inspection programs, investigation procedures, technical training plans, and state personnel training programs
- Executing key SSO program elements including reviewing and approving key transit agency safety plans and other programmatic elements, conducting triennial (or ongoing) safety audits, conducting safety event (accident) and hazard investigations, and assessing transit agency corrective action plans
- Coordinating between the SSO client and the FTA for FTA audits, annual and periodic reporting, and as-needed technical inputs
- Conducting assessments of new project safety and security certification and completing pre-passenger service safety assessments
- Providing technical experts in safety, security, emergency preparedness, operations, maintenance, engineering, and other key disciplines
How can we help your agency improve rail transit safety? Reach out to us at TRA, we would be happy to discuss with you.
Our Services
With 35 years of industry experience, TRA offers unparalleled expertise and a comprehensive understanding of the unique challenges faced by our clients. You can count on our dynamic consulting team to provide the technical expertise and logistical capacity to provide practical, customized solutions.
Frequently Asked Questions
State Safety Oversight is the federal requirement, administered by the FTA under 49 CFR Part 674, that requires states to oversee the safety of defined rail fixed-guideway public transportation systems within their jurisdiction. Covered modes include subway, metro, light rail, automated rail, streetcar, and inclined plane systems that are not regulated by the Federal Railroad Administration.
Each participating state designates an SSO Agency that must be financially and legally independent from the rail transit agencies it oversees. The SSO Agency reviews and approves Agency Safety Plans, conducts audits and investigations, and enforces state and federal safety requirements. FTA certifies each state’s program to ensure it meets federal standards.
States begin with enabling legislation that gives a designated agency legal authority, investigatory powers, and financial independence from the rail transit systems being overseen. From there, the SSO Agency develops program standards, procedures, and staff training plans that implement the federal requirements in 49 CFR Parts 671 and 674.
FTA provides federal SSO Formula Grant funding to support program startup and ongoing operations. New programs must complete formal certification before federal transit funds can flow to rail transit agencies in that state, which gives the process both urgency and political visibility.
Core activities include reviewing and approving transit agency Public Transportation Agency Safety Plans (contents of which are dictated by 49 CFR Part 673 and by SSO program standards), conducting triennial or ongoing safety audits, investigating accidents and hazards, reviewing corrective action plans, formulating and executing risk-based inspection programs, and coordinating with FTA on reporting and audits.
Effective SSO work blends independence with constructive engagement. The best programs maintain professional boundaries while still building working relationships with transit agencies, because oversight that devolves into adversarial exchanges rarely produces lasting safety improvements.
A risk-based inspection program uses qualitative and quantitative data to focus inspection activity on the highest-risk systems, assets, and conditions, rather than treating every asset the same. In October 2022, FTA issued special directives requiring all SSO Agencies to develop and implement these risk-based inspection, or RBI, programs.
The shift reflects a broader move away from compliance-only oversight toward data-driven prioritization. SSO agencies that execute risk-based inspection well collect better data on hazards, target their limited staff time effectively, and produce findings that transit agencies can act on in order of actual consequence.
SSO Agencies submit annual and periodic reports to FTA, respond to FTA audits, and provide technical input on emerging regulations and guidance. The relationship runs in both directions, with FTA providing technical assistance, training, and funding while SSO Agencies provide on-the-ground visibility into transit agency operations.
Tools like FTA’s Oversight Tracking System (OTrak) and SafeStat workflow give both sides shared visibility into audit and compliance activities. Agencies that invest in staff training on these systems and maintain clean documentation typically experience smoother FTA audits and fewer late-stage surprises.
TRA has provided SSO contractor support to many states over the company’s more than 35-year history. TRA’s work has included planning for and standing up SSO programs, and writing and updating SSO legislation, procedures, and standards. Depending on client needs, TRA has provided all types of contractor support to SSO agencies, ranging from focused, as-needed activities such as triennial on-site audits and safety event investigations providing full-time support staff to augment state personnel and everything in between. Whether formulating reports to the FTA, tracking and evaluating corrective action plans, conducting risk-based inspections, TRA tailors its project approach to each state’s needs.