AGENDA CAPTION:
Title
Consider approval of Resolution 2025-168R, approving the Texas Department of Transportation sponsored Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan (PTASP) and establishing fiscal year 2026 safety performance targets for the City of San Marcos Public Transit Services in accordance with 49 CFR 673; and declaring an effective date.
Body
Meeting date: September 16, 2025
Department: Public Works
Amount & Source of Funding
Funds Required: $0.00
Account Number: N/A
Funds Available: N/A
Account Name: N/A
Fiscal Note:
Prior Council Action: Council adopted the original agency safety plan June 16, 2020. FY 2024 safety targets were approved on October 17, 2023. FY 2025 safety targets were approved on August 20, 2024.
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Public Safety, Core Services & Fiscal Excellence
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☒ Transportation - Multimodal transportaion network to improve accessibility and mobility, minimize congestion and reduce pollution
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Background Information:
The purpose of this item is to maintain compliance with the Federal Transit Administration’s Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan federal grant requirements.
The City of San Marcos is a Small Urbanized Area (UZA). As such, the City serves as the direct recipient of federal transit funds on behalf of the San Marcos UZA and operates the City’s transit system.
The Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan (PTASP) is a federal requirement for all transit agencies that directly receive federal funds under 49 CFR 673. In addition to maintaining a safety policy, agencies must establish annual safety performance targets approved by their governing body. Staff have updated the previously adopted PTASP by revising the safety performance targets for FY 2026. Upon Council approval, these targets will be submitted to the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO) and the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). The PTASP gives transit agencies a federally mandated, structured process to plan, monitor, and improve safety.
The PTASP is a safety management framework that helps transit agencies improve safety in transit operations by:
- Setting safety Performance Targets: Agencies must track performance measures (such as number of accidents, injuries, safety events, and system reliability).
- Annual review and approval: PTASP requires an annual review and approval for the safety targets for the coming year.
- Enhances Transparency and Oversight: Makes safety information available to state DOTs, Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs), and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA).
- Supports Funding and Compliance: Compliance with PTASP is required for continued receipt of certain federal transit funds.
Benefits of the Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan include:
- Improves Safety Performance by encouraging proactive identification of safety risks
- Develops a culture of safety by fostering a commitment to safety from leadership to frontline staff
- Provides data-driven decision making through setting safety performance measures and monitoring progress
- Informs resource allocation for safety training and equipment
- Reduces safety-related events which in turn reduces the number of injuries, crashes and equipment damage
- Reduces operational downtime with fewer accidents leading to less disruption of transit service to the community
Council Committee, Board/Commission Action:
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Alternatives:
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Recommendation:
Staff recommends approval.