FTA flags worker fatigue

The Federal Transit Administration told transit agencies on April 10 to treat worker fatigue as a safety hazard, not just a staffing problem. (transit.dot.gov) The agency’s new Safety Bulletin 26-01 says it has identified 133 safety events since 2014 in which transit worker fatigue was a factor. It said 73 of those events happened after the start of 2022. (transit.dot.gov) The bulletin says those 133 events led to one death, 149 injuries, and about $12.3 million in estimated property damage. It applies to agencies covered by the Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan rule in 49 CFR Part 673. (transit.dot.gov) Federal Transit Administration officials are pushing agencies to use their existing Safety Management System and Safety Risk Management processes to assess fatigue risk. The bulletin names operators, dispatchers, supervisors, and maintenance staff as groups agencies should review. (transit.dot.gov) The document points agencies to concrete controls: scheduling changes that allow adequate rest, training for schedulers and frontline workers, fatigue-awareness instruction, and confidential reporting programs without reprisal. It also says agencies should consider formal Fatigue Risk Management Programs. (transit.dot.gov) That federal push follows an October 30, 2023 advance notice of proposed rulemaking in which the agency said it was considering minimum national safety standards on transit worker hours of service and fatigue risk management. The Federal Transit Administration said then that it was seeking public input on rest protections, current industry practice, and the costs and benefits of federal requirements. (federalregister.gov) The agency has also been building a fatigue guidance library for transit systems. Its resource page says overtime, extended shifts, and insufficient sleep can impair workers, and it compares some sleep-loss effects to alcohol impairment. (transit.dot.gov) The issue moved into the industry’s main Washington policy gathering this week. Passenger Transport, the American Public Transportation Association’s publication, said the bulletin was highlighted on April 13 at the association’s 50th Legislative Conference. (aptapassengertransport.com) That conference opened April 13 in Washington with more than 600 public transportation leaders, according to the association’s coverage. The meeting runs April 12 through April 14 and centers on federal policy and the next surface transportation bill. (aptapassengertransport.com; apta.com) For transit agencies, the immediate federal message is to fold fatigue into the safety plan they already maintain and document the controls they choose. For Washington, the bulletin adds current incident data to a rulemaking file that could still lead to national fatigue standards. (transit.dot.gov; federalregister.gov)