Bureau of Transportation Statistics – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13, the Bureau of Transportation Statistics invites the general public, industry and other governmental parties to comment on the continuing need for and usefulness of BTS requiring U.S. large certificated air carriers to submit a true and complete copy of its annual audit that is made by an independent public accountant. If a carrier does not have an annual audit, the carrier must file a statement that no audit has been performed. Comments are requested concerning whether the audit reports are needed by BTS and DOT; BTS accurately estimated the reporting burden; there are other ways to enhance the quality, utility and clarity of the information collected; and there are ways to minimize reporting burden, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Bureau of Transportation Statistics invites the general public, industry and other governmental parties to comment on the continuing need for and usefulness of BTS requiring U.S. large certificated air carriers to submit a true and complete copy of its annual audit that is made by an independent public accountant. If a carrier does not have an annual audit, the carrier must file a statement that no audit has been performed. Comments are requested concerning whether the audit reports are needed by BTS and DOT; BTS accurately estimated the reporting burden; there are other ways to enhance the quality, utility and clarity of the information collected; and there are ways to minimize reporting burden, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces that the Information Collection Request (ICR) abstracted below is being forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for an extension of a previously approved collection. The ICR describes the nature of the information collection and its expected burden. The Federal Register Notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting comments on the following collection of information was published on September 5, 2023. There were no comments. As the September 5, 2023, Notice solicits comments from the public on whether it is appropriate for the Department to continue to collect information on oversales from airlines, the issues raised by these comments are beyond the scope of this Notice and will not be addressed here. Specifically, having obsolete regulations that allow three legacy carriers and one discount carrier to control 80% of the domestic aviation market, while banning foreign competitors from offering U.S. domestic flights, and allowing airlines to book to 100% capacity or overbook to increase their revenue stream. With respect to the overbooking comment, the FAA has no jurisdiction in this matter, however, the Department does. And although it is not the Department's policy or purpose to dictate how airlines internally manage their business; this ended with deregulation of the aviation industry in 1979, it is the Department's policy and purpose to protect and standardize how the airlines treat their passengers.

On August 8, 2023, the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) announced its intention in a Federal Register Notice to request that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approve the following information collection: SafeMTSVoluntary Near-Miss Reporting and Analysis System, a voluntary program for confidential reporting of `near-misses' occurring on vessels within the Maritime Transportation System (MTS). BTS encouraged interested parties to submit comments to docket number 2023-0115 during the 60-day comment period. One comment was received, from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) expressing the agency's support for such a program.

In accordance with the requirements of section 3506(c)(2)(A) of Title 44 of the U.S. Code (Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995), this notice announces the intention of BTS to request the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to approve a new data collection: SafeMTS Voluntary Near-Miss Reporting and Analysis System.

In accordance with the requirements of section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, BTS announces the intention of the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) to request the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to use the approved OMB Number 2138-0044, and to continue to collect the following information: Confidential Close Call Transit Data for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA or the Authority), which includes but is not limited to the collection of data from Rail, Bus, Information Technology, and Command Center personnel. This data collection effort supports a multi-year program focused on improving the Authority in its entirety, by collecting and analyzing data and information on close calls and other unsafe occurrences within WMATA. The program is co-sponsored by WMATA and labor leadership including: the President/Business Agent of the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 689, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) Local 922 and Office & Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) Local 2. The Close Call program is designed to identify safety issues and propose preventive actions based on voluntary reports of a close call submitted confidentially to BTS, an Agency within the U.S. Department of Transportation. This information collection is necessary for systematically analyzing data to identify root causes of potentially unsafe events. On January 23, 2023, BTS published Federal Register notice, allowing for a 60-day comment period on the ICR. The comment period closed on March 24, 2023. The agency received no comments. The purpose of this notice is to allow 30 days for public comment to OMB on this collection from all interested individuals and organizations.

In accordance with the requirements of section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, BTS announces the intension to request the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for its review and renewal of the Ocean Shipping Reform Act (OSRA) 2022 Pilot Data Collection. Section 16 of OSRA 2022 mandates that the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) collect chassis and container street dwell time, as well as chassis out of service data monthly from each port, marine terminal operator, and chassis owner or provider with a fleet of over 50 chassis that supply chassis for a fee. The information collected from this data collection will be used to provide, at the least, national level street dwell and out of service statistics. The monthly statistics will be published by BTS on the BTS OSRA web page at: www.bts.gov/osra.

In accordance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces the intention of the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) to request the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to use the approved OMB Number 2138-0044, and continue to collect the following information: Confidential Close Call Transit Data for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA or the Authority), which includes but is not limited to the collection of data from Rail, Bus, Information Technology, and Command Center personnel. This data collection effort supports a multi-year program focused on improving the Authority in its entirety, by collecting and analyzing data and information on close calls and other unsafe occurrences within WMATA. The program is co- sponsored by WMATA and labor leadership including: the President/ Business Agent of the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 689, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) Local 922 and Office & Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) Local 2. The Close Call program is designed to identify safety issues and propose preventive actions based on voluntary reports of a close call submitted confidentially to BTS, an Agency within the U.S. Department of Transportation. This information collection is necessary for systematically analyzing data to identify root causes of potentially unsafe events.

On July 18, 2022, the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) announced its intention in a Federal Register Notice (87 FR 42796) to request that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approve the following information collection: The Freight Logistics Optimization Works (FLOW) Project. Over the past several years, the U.S. supply chain has struggled with unprecedented congestion under COVID-induced surges of containerized cargo through our ports and intermodal networks. In March of this year, the White House announced the launch of the Freight Logistics Optimization Works (FLOW) initiative with the Department of Transportation and the freight industry to facilitate a collaboration and sharing of intermodal trade data. This collaboration would help improve supply chain efficiencies and reduce overall costs to U.S. consumers. The FLOW initiative builds on previous work by the Administration's Supply Chain Disruptions Task Force to ensure the expeditious movement of cargo from ship to shelf. In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, BTS announces its plan to submit the Information Collection Request (ICR) described below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for its review and approval. BTS encouraged interested parties to submit comments to docket number 2022- 15247, during the 60-day comment period. No comments were received.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Bureau of Transportation Statistics invites the general public, industry and other governmental parties to comment on the continuing need for and usefulness of BTS requiring certificated air carriers to preserve accounting records, consumer complaint letters, reservation reports and records, system reports of aircraft movements, etc. Also, public charter operators and overseas military personnel charter operators are required to retain certain contracts, invoices, receipts, bank records and reservation records.

In accordance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces the intention of BTS to request the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to approve continuation of the following information collection: Barrier Failure Reporting in Oil and Gas Operations on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). BTS has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with BSEE to expand the scope of SafeOCS to include an industry-wide repository of equipment failure data, analyze and aggregate information provided under this program, and publish reports that will provide BSEE, the industry, and all OCS stakeholders with essential information about failure types and modes of critical safety barriers for offshore operations related to well control and safety and pollution prevention.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this notice announces that the Information Collection Request, abstracted below, is being forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget for extension of currently approved reporting requirement. A Federal Register Notice with a 60-day comment period was published on March 11, 2021 (86 FR 13967). No comments were received.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.) this notice announces that the Information Collection Request (ICR) abstracted below has been forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for extension of currently approved collections. The ICR describes the nature of the information collection and its expected burden. A Federal Register Notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting comments on the following collection of information was published on March 11, 2021 (86 FR 13966). No comments were received.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces that the Information Collection Request (ICR) abstracted below is being forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for an extension of a currently approved collection. The ICR describes the nature of the information collection and its expected burden. The Federal Register Notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting comments on the following collection of information was published on March 11, 2021 (86 FR 13965). One comment was received from the Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis strongly supporting the continued collection of this data.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Bureau of Transportation Statistics invites the general public, industry and other governmental parties to comment on the continuing need for and usefulness of BTS collecting financial, traffic and operating statistics from small certificated and commuter air carriers. Small certificated air carriers (operate aircraft with 60 seats or less or with 18,000 pounds of payload capacity or less) currently must file the two quarterly schedules listed below: F-1 Report of Financial Data, F-2 Report of Aircraft Operating Expenses and Related Statistics, and Commuter air carriers must file the Schedule F-1 Report of Financial Data, Commenters should address whether BTS accurately estimated the reporting burden and if there are other ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information collected.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13, the Bureau of Transportation Statistics invites the general public, industry and other governmental parties to comment on the continuing need and usefulness of BTS collecting reports from air carriers on the aggregated indebtedness balance of a political candidate or party for Federal office. The reports are required when the aggregated indebtedness is over $5,000 on the last day of a month.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13, the Bureau of Transportation Statistics invites the general public, industry and other governmental parties to comment on the continuing need for and usefulness of BTS requiring certificated air carriers to preserve accounting records, consumer complaint letters, reservation reports and records, system reports of aircraft movements, etc. Also, public charter operators and overseas military personnel charter operators are required to retain certain contracts, invoices, receipts, bank records and reservation records.

In accordance with the requirements of section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces the intention of the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) to request the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to reinstate previously approved OMB Number 2139-0010 for the following information collection: Confidential Close Call Transit Data for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA or the Authority), which includes but is not limited to the collection of data from Rail, Bus, Information Technology, and Command Center personnel. This data collection effort supports a multi-year program focused on improving the Authority, in its entirety by collecting and analyzing data and information on close calls and other unsafe occurrences within WMATA. The program is co- sponsored by WMATA and labor leadership including: The President/ Business Agent of the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 689, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) Local 922 and Office & Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) Local 2. The Close Call program is designed to identify safety issues and propose preventive actions based on voluntary reports of a close call submitted confidentially to BTS, an Agency within the U.S. Department of Transportation. This information collection is necessary for systematically analyzing data to identify root causes of potentially unsafe events.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13, the Bureau of Transportation Statistics invites the general public, industry and other governmental parties to comment on the continuing need for and usefulness of DOT requiring U.S. and foreign air carriers to file traffic and capacity data pursuant to 14 CFR 241.19 and Part 217, respectively. These reports are used to measure air transportation activity to, from, and within the United States.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Bureau of Transportation Statistics invites the general public, industry and other governmental parties to comment on the continuing need for and usefulness of BTS collecting a sample of airline passenger itineraries with the dollar value of the passenger ticket. Certificated air carriers that operated scheduled passenger service with at least one aircraft having a seating capacity of over 60 seats or operates an international route report these data. Comments are requested concerning whether: (a) The collection is still needed by the Department of Transportation; (b) BTS accurately estimates the reporting burden; and (c) there are other ways to enhance the quality, utility and clarity of the information collected.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this notice announces that the Information Collection Request (ICR) abstracted below has been forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for extension of currently approved collections. The ICR describes the nature of the information collection and its expected burden. The Federal Register Notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting comments on the following collection of information was published on March 28, 2018 (83 FR 13442). Four comments were received. None pertained to this Information Collection Request and will be addressed by the Department at this time.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces that the Information Collection Request (ICR) abstracted below is being forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for an extension of a currently approved collection. The ICR describes the nature of the information collection and its expected burden. The Federal Register Notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting comments on the following collection of information was published on January 23, 2018 (83 FR 3256). There were three comments received. One from (c c) commenting on how wind turbines kill bats and the overall value of bats. One from (s s) commenting on the need for regulations on imported goods and trade violations. One from (v v) commenting the need to expand tariffs on rare earth elements in countries that exploit child labor. As none of the filed comments pertain to large certificated air carrier financial data and the need for such, the Department will not address these specific comments in this particular forum.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13, the Bureau of Transportation Statistics invites the general public, industry and other governmental parties to comment on the continuing need for and usefulness of BTS requiring certificated air carriers to preserve accounting records, consumer complaint letters, reservation reports and records, system reports of aircraft movements, etc. Also, public charter operators and overseas military personnel charter operators are required to retain certain contracts, invoices, receipts, bank records and reservation records.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13, the Bureau of Transportation Statistics invites the general public, industry and other governmental parties to comment on the continuing need for and usefulness of BTS requiring U.S. large certificated air carriers to submit two true and complete copies of its annual audit that is made by an independent public accountant. If a carrier does not have an annual audit, the carrier must file a statement that no audit has been performed. Comments are requested concerning whether (1) the audit reports are needed by BTS and DOT; (2) BTS accurately estimated the reporting burden; (3) there are other ways to enhance the quality, utility and clarity of the information collected; and (4) there are ways to minimize reporting burden, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13, the Bureau of Transportation Statistics invites the general public, industry and other governmental parties to comment on the continuing need for and usefulness of BTS collecting financial data from large certificated air carriers. Large certificated air carriers are carriers that operate aircraft with 61 seats or more, aircraft with 18,001 pounds of payload capacity or more, or operate international air services.