To: Board of Supervisors
Department or Agency Name(s): Sonoma County Public Infrastructure
Staff Name and Phone Number: Johannes J. Hoevertsz, 707-565-2550
Vote Requirement: Majority
Supervisorial District(s): Countywide
Title:
Title
Sonoma County Transit - Public Transit Agency Safety Plan
End
Recommended Action:
Recommended action
Approve Sonoma County Transit’s updated Public Transit Agency Safety Plan.
end
Executive Summary:
As a fixed-route public transit operator, Sonoma County Transit is required by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to develop a Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan (PTASP) to enhance transit safety by proactively identifying, assessing, and mitigating safety risks in the transit system. The rule applies to all operators of public transportation systems that are recipients of federal assistance provided under the Urbanized Area Formula Program (49 USC § 5307). The FTA requires annual review and approvals of the PTASP, and if approved by the Board, this action adopts an updated PTASP for fiscal year 2025, which includes new performance metrics achieved during the past fiscal year.
Discussion:
The Federal Transit Administration’s PTASP rule became effective on July 19, 2019, requiring public transportation agencies to develop an Agency Safety Plan (ASP) using the Safety Management Systems (SMS) approach, and on June 9, 2020, the Board of Supervisors approved the required safety plan for Sonoma County Transit.
The SMS is a comprehensive, collaborative approach that brings all aspects of transit operations together to better control risk, detect and correct safety issues early, and to share and analyze safety performance data in an efficient and effective manner, and is based on the following key components:
1. Safety Management Policy - The Safety Management Policy Statement is the SMS component that defines the fundamentals upon which Sonoma County Transit will implement and follow its ASP and must be communicated throughout the agency. It documents commitment to the SMS as one of the transit agency’s core business processes.
2. Safety Risk Management - The safety risk management process identifies requirements for safety hazard identification, safety risk assessment, and safety risk mitigation.
3. Safety Assurance - Describes the activities for safety performance monitoring and measurement.
4. Safety Promotion - Identifies the safety training program for operating staff and contractors and the process for safety communication throughout the agency.
5. Safety Performance Targets - Safety performance targets are based on safety performance measures under the National Public Transportation Safety Plan and describes coordination with State and Metropolitan Planning Organizations.
In FY 2024, Sonoma County Transit’s fixed-route performance had four incidents of passenger injuries (requires immediate medical attention away from the scene) and three safety events (collision, fire, hazardous spill, act of nature, in a transit facility or involving a transit vehicle and meets established National Transit Database thresholds). The amount of injures exceeded its target of 1 event, or 0.21 incidents per 100 thousand revenue miles. In terms of safety events, the target is 2 events while 3 events occurred, missing the target 0.07 per total revenue miles for the fiscal year. Although the number of incidents was very low, staff are working with the County’s fixed-route contractor and its Safety Committee, which is comprised of staff from SCT, the fixed route contractor and the paratransit contractor, to further improve performance. Sonoma County Transit’s paratransit program achieved its FY 2024 goals related to Injuries and Safety Events (as defined in the plan) with zero occurrences.
The FTA now requires transit systems to make necessary adjustments and recertify their ASP on an annual basis. The recommended FY 2025 safety plan update was approved by SCT’s fixed route and paratransit safety committees on February 21, 2025. Following Board of Supervisor approval, Sonoma County Transit’s annual ASP updates will be forwarded to the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and Caltrans Division of Rail and Mass Transit for reference. This plan will be brought back to the Board of Supervisors with its FY 2026 update in spring 2026.
Strategic Plan:
NA
Racial Equity:
Was this item identified as an opportunity to apply the Racial Equity Toolkit?
No
Prior Board Actions:
6/9/2020 #37 - Board approved Sonoma County Transit’s Public Transit Agency Safety Plan
Fiscal Summary
Narrative Explanation of Fiscal Impacts:
Development and implementation will be conducted within existing Transit Division resources. No fiscal impacts are anticipated with the adoption of this plan update.
Narrative Explanation of Staffing Impacts (If Required):
None.
Attachments:
Sonoma County Transit Agency Safety Plan - January 2025
Related Items “On File” with the Clerk of the Board:
None.