Crockett Amendment to Protect Transit Worker Safety Included in House THUD Appropriations Bill

WASHINGTON — Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett (TX-30) announced the inclusion of her amendment protecting transit worker safety to the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development funding bill for FY2024. This amendment would urge the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to immediately act on a long overdue rulemaking required by the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act) which requires the FTA to protect public transit operators from assault.

"The transit worker safety crisis across America has reached new heights in recent years. Just five days ago in Dallas, a DART bus driver was shot and robbed while on his way home from work. These horrific attacks occur every day in the transit industry and impact drivers across the country in cities big and small. When transit workers are attacked while a vehicle is in motion, the lives of transit riders, pedestrians, and other drivers are put at risk as well," said Rep. Crockett.  

"Over the last two years, we have seen surging levels of worker organization and empowerment. These gains in the private sector should be celebrated, but we must also be doing all we can to support workers at the federal level. I introduced this amendment to push for greater enforcement of existing transit worker safety laws, including finally beginning an investigation into whether more protections are needed to keep workers safe on the job. When transit workers aren't safe, passengers aren't either - I'm grateful to Rules Committee leadership for recognizing this fact and advancing this bill to protect millions of American workers." 

In 2015, Congress took action by directing the FTA to address the transit worker safety crisis through two provisions in the FAST Act. Section 3020 required the FTA to study the safety standards and protocols used in the transit industry, including the anti-assault safety standards that transit systems apply to the design of buses, trains, and operator workstations to evaluate the need to establish new minimum transit safety standards and to issue a report regarding these matters. Section 3022 also required the FTA to issue a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) on protecting transit operators from assault. Despite this law, the FTA has not completed a full report, citing significant data limitations.

In 2019, the FTA under the Trump Administration issued a Federal Register notice that claimed rulemaking on operator assaults was “unnecessary.” However, assaults against transit workers remain a serious issue. It is critical that the FTA reverse this position and initiate a standalone rulemaking that includes strong minimum safety standards for public transit vehicles to protect transit workers from continuous attacks.

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Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett represents portions of Dallas and Tarrant Counties, with the cities of Dallas, Grand Prairie, DeSoto, Cedar Hill, Lancaster, Duncanville, Glenn Heights, Hutchins, Wilmer, Arlington, Ovilla, and Seagoville.