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Board adopts updated safety plans for Embark bus and OKC streetcar; ODOT inspections, new reporting requirements added
Summary
Trustees approved the public transportation agency safety plan for Embark bus (version 4) and Embark OKC streetcar (version 5), reflecting national and state updates including risk-based inspections and semiannual reporting.
The Central Oklahoma Transportation and Parking Authority voted to adopt updated public transportation agency safety plans for the Embark bus system (version 4) and the Embark OKC streetcar (version 5).
Eugene (presenter) reviewed changes adopted to align with the National Public Transportation Safety Plan and state oversight requirements. Major updates include the establishment (and formal recognition) of a joint labor-management safety committee, a new risk-reduction program to lower rates of accidents, injuries and assaults on transit workers, expanded training requirements (including de-escalation and maintenance training), infectious-disease exposure strategies (a COVID-era addition), and a requirement to add targets for bus rapid transit beginning in 2027.
For the streetcar the plan adds a state oversight provision: the Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT), the system’s state safety oversight agency, may conduct four inspections annually — two announced and two unannounced — under a risk-based inspection regime. The plan also moves reporting from an annual cadence to semiannual reporting and updates notification procedures so certain two-hour notifications may be done by email rather than an immediate phone call.
Eugene credited Deputy Chief Safety Officer Molly Rainey for drafting and coordinating the updates. Staff said the changes affect standard operating procedures and training curricula and that grant-funded safety and security funds are tied to performance: staff noted a security-related grant allocation equal to 1% and a 0.75% safety allocation that, if targets are not met, must be used to address safety deficiencies.
The board approved the resolution by electronic vote. Staff said the updates will be incorporated into mode-specific SOPs and that additional training classes required by the plan will be scheduled.
Why this matters: The updates reflect federal and state changes in transit safety oversight and could affect training, inspection schedules and the allocation of grant-funded safety funds.
Next steps: Staff will implement the plan updates, revise SOPs as needed and schedule required training and inspections under the new risk-based regime.
