As part of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (USDOT) focus on improving the safety of public transportation systems, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced the appointment of 24 members to the Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) Transit Advisory Committee for Safety (TRACS).

“At the Department of Transportation, our top priority is ensuring the safety of every member of the traveling public, including the workforce,” said Secretary Buttigieg. “We look forward to working with the 24 members of TRACS — representing experts from large cities, small towns, academia, non-profits, organized labor, and more — to support the continued safety of public transit across America.”

TRACS’s membership reflects the geographic, size, and issue diversity across the transit industry and includes members from large and small bus and rail operators, state safety oversight agencies, academia, non-profit organizations, and labor unions from rural communities to America’s most populous cities.

TRACS provides information, advice, and recommendations on transit safety and other issues as determined by the Secretary of Transportation and the FTA Administrator. TRACS meets as a full committee at least once a year. Meetings are announced in the Federal Register and are open to the public. The first meeting will be held in early 2023.

Since 2009, TRACS has provided FTA with valuable recommendations on critical issues, such as establishing a Fatigue Management Program for the Bus and Rail Transit Industry and researching transit worker accidents and fatalities to better protect them in railway corridors. The TRACS charter was renewed in February 2022.

TRACS appointments are for two-year terms. New committee members include:

• Edward Abel, director, operational safety, Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority.

• Brian Alberts, sr. director, safety and advisory services, APTA.

• Johanna Cockburn, director, transportation, City of Greensboro, N.C.

• Beverly Edwards, COO, First Transit, Cincinnati.

• Rebecca Frankhouser, chief safety officer/managing director, safety, security, and quality assurance, King County Metro, Seattle.

• David Harris, transit and rail division director, New Mexico Department of Transportation.

• Molly Hughes, public transportation safety administrator, Washington State Department of Transportation.

• Donna Johnson, VP/chief safety officer, Dallas Area Rapid Transit.

• Laura Karr, associate general counsel, Amalgamated Transit Union.

• Jim Keane, GM, operations safety, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

• Thomas Lamb, chief, innovation and technology, New York City Transit.

• Brian Lapp, sr. VP/chief safety officer, New Jersey Transit.

• Raymond Lopez, deputy executive officer, corporate safety, L.A. Metro.

• Rachel Maleh, executive director, Operation Lifesaver Inc.

• Santiago Osorio, chief safety officer, Houston METRO.

• Karen Philbrick, executive director, San Jose State University, Mineta Transportation Institute.

• Ashley Porter, transit safety programs manager, Florida Department of Transportation.

• Patrick Preusser, director, rapid transit, City and County of Honolulu, Department of Transportation Services.

• Reggie Reese, chief safety officer, Pierce Transit, Lakewood, Wash.

• Adam Sharkey, deputy director, River Cities Public Transit, Pierre, S.D.

• Justin Sobeck, state safety oversight program manager/passenger rail safety specialist, Missouri Department of Transportation.

• Lisa Staes, associate director, transit safety and workforce development program, University of South Florida, Center for Urban Transportation Research.

• Gardner Tabon, executive VP, systemwide accessibility/chief safety officer, CapMetro, Austin, Texas.

• Curtis Tate, international administrative VP, Transport Workers Union.