SEPTA (Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority) said on July 16 it will implement “additional initiatives and a series of corrective action plans (CAPs)” in response to the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Safety Management Inspection (SMI) Final Report issued the same day. The CAPs, the agency said, “will help further the series of proactive efforts initiated late last summer aimed at enhancing safety and security; increasing staffing and training; and shoring up operational practices and procedures.”
FTA, which currently maintains federal oversight over SEPTA’s operations and recently completed an exhaustive inspection of the authority’s safety protocols, practices and processes, on July 16 published its 121-page SMI Final Report (download below), “which outlines findings and directives SEPTA will be implementing, primarily as it relates to reducing crime, increasing staffing and training, and strengthening operational practices and policies.” FTA representatives were on site at SEPTA locations for inspections and employee interviews between September 2023 and January 2024.The FTA also assessed PennDOT (Pennsylvania Department of Transportation), which has primary oversight of transit operations in Pennsylvania.
“[During] the past five years, SEPTA has experienced a deteriorating safety record, with significantly higher rates of fatalities, injuries, and accidents compared to the transit industry average and its peers, particularly on fixed-route buses, trolleys, and heavy rail,” FTA said in the SMI Executive Summary. “Key safety performance indicators have not improved substantially and, in some cases, have worsened, even after enhanced PennDOT intervention directed by FTA in March 2023.
“FTA’s SMI reviewed the operations and maintenance of SEPTA’s heavy rail transit system, six subway-surface trolleys and two suburban trolley lines. The SMI also reviewed the operations and maintenance of SEPTA’s 126-route bus system. FTA did not address SEPTA’s [Regional Rail] system, which is under the jurisdiction of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), or SEPTA’s contracted paratransit or trackless trolley services.
“The SMI assessed the identified causes of and contributing factors for recent safety events, the effectiveness of SEPTA’s safety training programs, the level and quality of supervision provided for safety-critical activities, and the safety impacts of an increasing number of assaults on workers for SEPTA’s workers and passengers. Additionally, the SMI evaluated the effectiveness of PennDOT’s SSO program in overseeing and enforcing safety at a rail transit system of SEPTA’s size and complexity, including a review of PennDOT’s SSO program policies and practices for identifying areas of safety concern and compelling SEPTA to take corrective action.”
SEPTA noted it “launched a number of initiatives prior to recent FTA engagement aimed at ensuring safety and security of the system”:
- “Significant investments to attract and retain SEPTA Transit Police officers to address concerns over crime and quality-of-life offenses. SEPTA had a 37% decrease in serious crimes on the system during the first half of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023. The most violent crimes, including aggravated assaults and robberies, decreased by 47%. SEPTA Police are also actively partnering with Philadelphia Police and other law enforcement to increase the overall presence of uniformed police officers on the system. In addition, SEPTA Police have fully launched a Virtual Patrol Unit to monitor live security camera feeds and dispatch officers to incidents more quickly.
- “Audio connected to surveillance cameras at the front of buses has been activated to record evidence of threats against bus operators, to aid efforts to enhance security for SEPTA’s frontline workforce.
- “Testing is under way for bulletproof shields for operators.
- “On-board fare collection policy has been updated to mitigate interactions that put operators in confrontational situations.
- “Increasing staffing for frontline positions as well as critical support roles. SEPTA is aggressively recruiting to fill vacancies, and additional personnel have been added in the System Safety Division. SEPTA is also evaluating staffing in other key areas, such as the Control Center.
- “Closely examining practices and policies including last summer mandating full-day safety training for all 9,000 employees and utilizing feedback from these sessions to strengthen workplace practices. In addition, the Authority is evaluating policies governing hours of service, conducting a full review of its Standard Operating Procedures and establishing an Accident Reduction Coordination (ARC) Team.”
RELATED DEVELOPMENTS
SEPTA in February 2023 awarded a contract to Alstom Transportation, Inc., for 130 new Citadis™ light rail vehicles, with an option to order up to 30 more. The base order is valued at approximately $714 million. The move—part of SEPTA’s Trolley Modernization program “to transform the nation’s largest trolley network into an accessible, fast and easy-to-use system”—will replace the authority’s existing Kawasaki LRV fleet, which has been in service since the 1980s.
