Select an FAQ Category to browse all questions and answers in that category.
            


Applicability

PTSCTP requirements apply only to: 

  • State Safety Oversight Agencies (SSOAs) and their employees and contractors that conduct safety reviews, inspections, examinations, and other safety oversight activities of rail fixed guideway public transportation systems; and
  • Rail Transit Agencies (RTAs) and their employees and contractors who are directly responsible for the safety oversight of a recipient's rail fixed guideway public transportation system.

The PTSCTP regulation requires each SSOA and RTA to designate certain personnel and contractors. 

For SSOAs, this includes employees and contractors who conduct reviews, inspections, examinations, and other safety oversight activities of rail fixed guideway public transportation systems, including appropriate managers and supervisors of such personnel.

For RTAs, this includes employees and contractors who are directly responsible for safety oversight of rail modes. 

If you are uncertain of your designation status, you should consult with your agency’s leadership.

Yes. If you have not been designated as a PTSCTP participant by an SSOA or RTA, you may voluntarily participate in the PTSCTP. While the mandatory requirements do not apply if you are participating voluntarily, you must still complete the initial training requirements to receive a certificate of completion.

If you have been designated by an SSOA or RTA, you must complete the applicable training requirements of the PTSCTP. The TSSP is a separate certification program, and completion of the TSSP does not satisfy the mandatory requirements of the PTSCTP regulation.

The PTSCTP final rule will go into effect on November 1, 2024. FTA expects SSOAs and RTAs to continue to comply with the PTSCTP regulation in effect as of August 20, 2018, until this time. Beginning November 1, 2024, SSOAs and RTAs must comply with all new programmatic requirements included in the PTSCTP final rule published on August 14, 2024.

Enrolling in the PTSCTP

You may request enrollment in the PTSCTP by emailing the following information to FTASafetyPromotion@dot.gov:

  • The name of the agency you work for,
  • Your job title,
  • Your phone number, and
  • The track of the PTSCTP in which you are seeking to be enrolled in.

If you are a contractor or consultant seeking to enroll in the PTSCTP, you must also include the name of each SSOA and RTA that has designated you as a PTSCTP participant, if applicable.

Upon review and approval of your enrollment request, FTA will issue you an ITP to officially enroll you in the PTSCTP.

Each SSOA and RTA must ensure each designated individual is enrolled in the PTSCTP within 30 days of the individual's designation. Designated participants must complete the PTSCTP curriculum within three years of enrollment.

If you have been designated as a PTSCTP participant by an RTA, you must enroll in the RTA track of the PTSCTP. If you have been designated by an SSOA, you must enroll in the SSOA track of the PTSCTP. Designated participants may also choose to voluntarily enroll in additional tracks of the PTSCTP. 

If you have not been designated as a PTSCTP participant by an RTA or SSOA, you may choose to enroll in any track of the PTSCTP.

There is no cost to enroll in the PTSCTP, but there are costs to enroll in some of the required courses delivered by the Transportation Safety Institute (TSI). See TSI’s online course catalog regarding costs associated with the required courses.

A transit agency’s or SSOA’s training activities may be eligible for FTA financial assistance through various programs under 49 U.S.C. Chapter 53. Please contact your FTA regional office with specific questions on eligibility of funds for training.


Initial Training Requirements

The PTSCTP includes three certification tracks:

  • SSOA: This track is designed for SSOA personnel and contractors.
  • RTA: This track is designed for RTA personnel and contractors.
  • Bus: This track is designed for bus transit safety personnel.

The courses required for each track are available on FTA’s website here: https://www.transit.dot.gov/PTSCTP.

It depends. You may request that FTA evaluate safety training or certifications that you have obtained from another entity to determine if the training satisfies an applicable training requirement of the PTSCTP.

If you would like FTA to evaluate your previous training or certifications for this purpose, you must complete FTA’s Request for Equivalency Credit for Non-FTA Course/Training form and email it to FTASafetyPromotion@dot.gov.

No. Your previously completed PTSCTP courses will count towards those listed in your ITP.

Recertification

Each SSOA and RTA is required to identify the courses or activities that their designated personnel and contractors must complete for recertification. The recertification requirements identified must include, at a minimum, one hour of safety oversight training. 

Additionally, designated personnel and contractors must complete the recertification element defined by FTA. The FTA-defined recertification training element will be made available prior to the effective date of the update to the PTSCTP regulation, November 1, 2024. After this date, all designated participants will be required to complete the FTA-defined training as part of recertification. 

Upon completion of recertification training, designated participants must email their certificate(s) of completion or attendance to FTASafetyPromotion@dot.gov for FTA’s evaluation. FTA will issue new certificates of completion to designated participants after confirming the successful completion of recertification training.

The FTA-defined recertification training element is a new requirement included in the update to the PTSCTP regulation published on August 14, 2024. FTA will make this recertification training available to designated participants prior to the effective date of the PTSCTP regulation on November 1, 2024. The FTA-defined recertification training element may provide designated participants with relevant updates regarding FTA regulations, notices, directives, and best practices, and will be delivered in a format designed to minimize burden on the industry.

If you have been designated by an SSOA or RTA you must complete recertification every two years from the date you completed the PTSCTP’s initial safety training requirements.

No. If you are due to complete recertification prior to the effective date of the PTSCTP final rule (November 1, 2024), you are not required to complete the FTA-defined recertification training element. You must complete the recertification training requirements identified by the applicable agency or agencies that have designated you as a PTSCTP participant. Designated participants who complete recertification after the effective date of the PTSCTP final rule must also complete the FTA-defined recertification training element.

No. Recertification requirements only apply to designated SSOA and RTA personnel and contractors. Voluntary participants are not required to complete recertification.

However, if you enrolled in and completed the PTSCTP on a voluntary basis but have since been designated by an SSOA or RTA, you must complete recertification within two years of your designation.


State Safety Oversight Agency (SSOA) and Rail Transit Agency (RTA) Requirements

The PTSCTP final rule does not specify who from an SSOA or RTA must be appointed as the agency’s point of contact for communication with FTA regarding the PTSCTP. 

The agency point of contact will be required to communicate with FTA regarding designated personnel participation in the PTSCTP and other administrative matters related to the PTSCTP. Additionally, agency points of contact will be required to submit documentation as part of the regulation’s semiannual reporting requirements.

A recipient that does not ensure its designated participants complete the applicable PTSCTP requirements is subject to FTA enforcement action in accordance with FTA’s authorities under 49 U.S.C. § 5329.