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Applicability

PTSCTP requirements only apply 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 went into effect on November 1, 2024. 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 completing the PTSCTP Enrollment Form. This form is provided for transit personnel to enroll as new PTSCTP participants or enroll in a new PTSCTP track.

Those not currently affiliated with a public transportation agency are welcome to enroll but should include that they are voluntary and unaffiliated when completing the enrollment form.

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.

No. Enrolling with the FTA and registering or taking classes with TSI are separate actions. You do not have to be formally enrolled to take individual courses, but you do have to be enrolled with FTA to get credit for completing the full program and fulfill the 672 requirements.

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 the completed form to FTASafetyPromotion@dot.gov.

No. Your previously completed PTSCTP courses will count towards completing your certification.

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 was made available on 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, participants must email their certificates of completion or attendance to FTASafetyPromotion@dot.gov for FTA’s evaluation. FTA will issue certificates 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 has made the current FTA recertification training  requirement available on the PTSCTP website. The FTA-defined recertification training element  provides designated participants with relevant updates regarding FTA regulations, notices, directives, and best practices. It is 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. Recertification requirements only apply to personnel and contractors designated by SSOAs and RTAs. 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.

Semi-Annual Reporting

The Public Transportation Safety Certification Training Program (PTSCTP) regulation (49 CFR part 672) specifies the requirements for PTSCTP semi-annual reporting. Per the regulation, the agency’s Point of Contact must report the course or courses the agency has identified as required recertification training for their designated personnel. This must include, at a minimum, one (1) hour of safety oversight training. The documentation must include the complete name and length of each course, as well as the name of the course training provider. (§ 672.21(d)(2)).

FTA allows agencies to define their own recertification training that best suit their needs.

The PTSCTP semi-annual reporting form collects information pertaining to the entities specifically covered by the PTSCTP regulation: State Safety Oversight Agencies (SSOA) and rail transit agencies (RTA), as defined by 49 CFR 672.5.  If you are reporting for a multi-modal agency that operates rail service, please select “RTA.” 

§ 672.21 does not explicitly require points of contact to identify voluntary participants (e.g., bus-only personnel) in the PTSCTP semi-annual report to FTA.

No. Enrolling in PTSCTP and registering for classes with TSI are separate actions. You do not need to be formally enrolled in PTSCTP to take individual TSI courses, but you must be enrolled in PTSCTP to get credit for fulfilling the PTSCTP requirements. To enroll in PTSCTP, you may use the Public Transportation Safety Certification Training Program Enrollment Form or email FTASafetyPromotion@dot.gov.

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

The PTSCTP regulation 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.