Federal Transit Administration April 2005 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Federal Transit Administration is revising its rule on state safety oversight of rail fixed guideway systems not regulated by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA). Since January 26, 1996, when the rule took effect, the agency has gained experience and insight concerning the benefits of and recommended practices for implementing state safety oversight requirements. This final rule revises the State Safety Oversight rule and adds clarifying sections, further specification concerning what the state must require to monitor safety and security of non-FRA rail systems, and incorporates into the body of the regulation material previously incorporated by reference. The revised part should be easier to understand and ensure greater compliance of the State oversight agencies, and enhance the safety and security of the rail systems governed by this part.

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announces the availability of funds in fiscal year (FY) 2005 for the Over-the-Road Bus (OTRB) Accessibility Program, authorized by section 3038 of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21). The OTRB Accessibility Program makes funds available to private operators of over-the-road buses to finance the incremental capital and training costs of complying with DOT's over- the-road bus accessibility final rule, 49 CFR part 37, published in a Federal Register notice on September 28, 1998 (63 FR 51670). The authorizing legislation calls for national solicitation of applications, with grantees to be selected on a competitive basis. Federal transit funds are available to intercity fixed-route providers and other OTRB providers at up to 90 percent of the project cost. In FY 2005, $5,208,000 was appropriated for intercity fixed-route service providers and $1,686,400 was appropriated for other over-the- road bus service providers. This announcement is available on the Internet on the FTA Web site at: https://www.fta.dot.gov. FTA will announce final selections on the Web site and in the Federal Register. A synopsis of this announcement will be posted in the FIND module of the government-wide electronic grants Web site at https://www.grants.gov. Applications may be submitted to FTA in hard copy or electronically through the GRANTS.GOV APPLY function.