Safety & Security

APTA’s Bus and Rail Transit Safety Management Audit Programs provide expert assessment and recommendations to transit agencies regarding compliance with federal safety laws and regulations. The audit programs include Safety Management System (SMS) – based criteria to reflect requirements from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), including those most recently published in FTA’s Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan at 49 U.S.C Part 673.

APTA’s Commuter Rail Safety Management Audit Program includes Safety Management System (SMS)- based criteria to reflect requirements from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), including those most recently published in the FRA’s System Safety Rule at 49 U.S.C. Part 270.

Other benefits include:

• Application and implementation of safety management system practices that have been established as transit industry and railroad standards (including application of APTA standards / recommend practices).
• Thorough review and analysis of an agency’s PTASP (bus and rail transit properties regulated by FTA) and/or SSP (railroad properties regulated by FRA).
• Continuous improvement of safety and security throughout a transit system.
• Enhanced SMS-based processes, for improvement of service delivery and workplace safety; and
• Review of COVID-19 response and recovery efforts, if applicable.

Through this program, APTA sends a group of experts on-site to a bus or rail transit or railroad property for a few days to over a week to examine the agency’s safety, security, operations, and maintenance practices. We interview multiple people across the spectrum at an agency from safety to planning to HR to operations and maintenance. At the end of our time on-site, we prepare a presentation to an agency’s top management and subsequently prepare a final report with checklist. The final report is the proprietary information of the requesting property, and we do not share with anyone besides the requesting agency.

If you would like to schedule a Safety Management Audit, please submit our online inquiry form.

• Program Information
• Information Flyer

One pagers:

• Commuter Rail Audit Program
• Rail Audit Program (Subway/Heavy Rail, Light Rail, Trolley and Streetcar)
• Bus Audit Program

• Bus Safety Committee
• Commuter Rail Safety & Security Subcommittee
• Rail Safety Committee

Note: Committees are for APTA members only. If interested in joining a safety committee, please use APTA’s “Join a Committee” page.

• Security Affairs Committee
• Security Standards Policy and Planning Committee

Note: Committees are for APTA members only. If interested in joining a security committee, please use APTA’s “Join a Committee” page.

• Standards Program

• Standards Program
• Infrastructure and System Security Work Group (ISSWG)
• Security and Emergency Management Work Group (SEMWG)
• Transit Cyber Security Work Group (TCSWG)
• Information Sharing & Analysis Center (PT-ISAC)
• Public Transit Homeland Security Information Network (PT-HSIN)
• Personal Security Awareness in Transit Toolkit
• Cybersecurity Resources
• Transit’s Response to the Unhoused and Vulnerable Populations
• Human Trafficking
• TCRP Publications on Transit Security​

Peer reviews help agencies address issues with subject matter experts from within the transit industry. A dedicated Peer Review Program (PDF) panel will provide findings and recommendations to the senior management of the requesting agency on a confidential basis for a fee.

Peer Review Program

The Bus Safety, Security, Emergency Management, and Safe, Effective, and Clean Transit Excellence Awards recognize APTA Bus transportation systems that have implemented programs or projects that have achieved documented success in addressing specific safety or security program areas.

Bus Awards

The​ Rail Safety, Security, and Emergency Management and Safe, Effective, and Clean Transit Excellence Awards recognize APTA rail transportation systems that have implemented initiatives or programs that achieved safety or security objectives.

Rail Awards