Today at the Metro Northside Transit Center in Cincinnati, OH, ATU International and our Local 627-Cincinnati, OH, had the honor of joining Federal Transit Administration Acting Administrator Veronica Vanterpool to tout the recent FTA’s life-saving final rule regulations regarding Public Transportation Agency Safety Plans (PTASPs) that will empower our Locals to make our transit systems safer for our members, riders, and communities.
The new regulations, authorized by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) signed by President Biden in 2021, which our Union fought hard for, shifts decisions and actions on safety issues away from transit management and into the hands of our members and our Locals.
Acting FTA Administrator Vanterpool thanked our members for their commitment to moving millions of people and our Union’s input on making this a strong PTASP final rule that will hold transit agencies accountable.
Local 627 President/Business Agent Frank Harper spoke about our members being assaulted, and thanked International President John Costa for his leadership in pushing for this important final rule to ensure our members can get home safely. ATU Director of Government Affairs Jeff Rosenberg praised President and Senator Sherrod Brown for leading the fight on this.
Also speaking at the event were SORTA CEO and General Manager Darryl Haley, Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO President Greg Reagan.
This PTASP final rule is a game changer for the safety of our members and riders that will help to save lives.