Agency Information Collection Activity Under OMB Review |
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Special Collection: COVID-19
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Nadine Pembleton
Federal Transit Administration
24 June 2021
[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 119 (Thursday, June 24, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33473-33475]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-13352]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Transit Administration
[Docket No. FTA-2021-0006]
Agency Information Collection Activity Under OMB Review
AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration, DOT.
ACTION: Notice of request for comments.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this
notice announces the intention of the Federal Transit Administration
(FTA) to request the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approve the
extension of a currently approved information collection, previously
initiated as a request for emergency OMB approval. The FTA is
collecting this information to inform FTA actions to support the
transit industry's COVID-19 recovery efforts. The information
collection requirements describe the nature of the information
collection and their expected burdens.
DATES: Comments must be submitted before August 23, 2021.
ADDRESSES: To ensure that your comments are not entered more than once
into the docket, submit comments identified by the docket number by
only one of the following methods:
1. Website: www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for
submitting comments on the U.S. Government electronic docket site.
(Note: The U.S. Department of Transportation's (DOT's) electronic
docket is no longer accepting electronic comments.) All electronic
submissions must be made to the U.S. Government electronic docket site
at www.regulations.gov. Commenters should follow the directions below
for mailed and hand-delivered comments.
2. Fax: 202-366-7951.
3. Mail: U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue
SE, Docket Operations, M-30, West Building, Ground Floor, Room W12-140,
Washington, DC 20590-0001.
4. Hand Delivery: U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New
Jersey Avenue SE, Docket Operations, M-30, West Building, Ground Floor,
Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590-0001 between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00
p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
Instructions: You must include the agency name and docket number
for this notice at the beginning of your comments. Submit two copies of
your comments, if you submit them by mail. For confirmation that FTA
has received your comments, include a self-addressed stamped postcard.
Note that all comments received, including any personal information,
will be posted and will be available to internet users, without change,
to www.regulations.gov. You may review DOT's complete Privacy Act
Statement in the Federal Register published April 11, 2000, (65 FR
19477), or you may visit www.regulations.gov.
Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents and
comments received, go to www.regulations.gov at any time. Background
documents and comments received may also be viewed at the U.S.
Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Docket
Operations, M-30, West Building, Ground Floor, Room W12-140,
Washington, DC 20590-0001 between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Monday
through Friday, except Federal holidays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Candace Key, Office of Transit Safety
and Oversight--Office of System Safety, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Mail
Stop TSO-10, Washington, DC 20590 (202) 366-1783 or
candace.key@dot.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Interested parties are invited to send
comments regarding any aspect of this information collection,
including: (1) The necessity and utility of the information collection
for the proper performance of the functions of the FTA; (2) the
accuracy of the estimated burden; (3) ways to enhance the quality,
utility, and clarity of the collected information; and (4) ways to
minimize the collection burden without reducing the quality of the
collected information. Comments submitted in response to this notice
will be summarized and/or included in the request for OMB approval of
this information collection.
Title: Transit COVID Response Program
(OMB Number: 2132-0581)
Background: COVID-19 continues to pose significant challenges for
the
[[Page 33474]]
transit industry. Numerous transit providers have suspended service and
a greater number have reduced service. Yet, throughout the COVID-19
public health emergency, transit agencies across the country continue
to provide millions of trips to lifeline services, including
transporting healthcare personnel and other essential workers on the
front line of the Nation's COVID-19 response. Transit agencies also
offer additional essential services to support communities during the
public health emergency, such as meal delivery and Wi-Fi access in
underserved areas. Many transit agencies are also serving a critical
role in providing free or reduced-cost transportation to vaccination
sites and appointments, and using their facilities and vehicles as
vaccination sites. Accordingly, the U.S. Department of Homeland
Security's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency designates
transit workers as essential critical infrastructure workers.
Transit agencies and other stakeholders have expressed concerns
about the risk of COVID-19 to the transit industry and, along with the
FTA, have taken steps to address these concerns. Numerous transit
agencies have implemented mitigations to limit the transmission of
SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, among their workers and
within their systems. Despite these efforts, frontline transit workers
remain at high risk for work-related exposure to SARS-CoV-2 because
their work-related duties must be performed on-site and involve being
in close proximity (<6 feet) to the public or to coworkers. In
addition, many transit workers fall within racial and socioeconomic
demographics that are at increased risk of getting sick and dying from
COVID-19.
In December 2020, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
issued Emergency Use Authorizations (EUA) for the Pfizer-BioNTech and
Moderna COVID-19 vaccines, and in February 2021 issued an EUA for the
Johnson & Johnson (Janssen) COVID-19 vaccine. COVID-19 vaccines are
available to all individuals, 12 years and older, in every U.S. State
and over half of eligible individuals have received at least one
vaccine shot. However, challenges concerning vaccine access equity and
vaccine confidence continue to pose obstacles to reaching national
vaccination goals. As a result, it may take many months before
sufficiently-high numbers of frontline transit workers will be
vaccinated, though their communities will continue to rely on them to
provide critical transportation services every day--including
transportation to vaccination sites.
On January 21, 2021, President Biden issued Executive Order 13998
titled ``Promoting COVID-19 Safety in Domestic and International
Travel'' ``to save lives and allow all Americans, including the
millions of people employed in the transportation industry, to travel
and work safely,'' requiring immediate Federal action to mandate masks
on public forms of transportation, including transit. On January 29,
2021, the CDC issued an Order requiring the wearing of masks by
travelers, including on public transportation, to prevent spread of the
virus that causes COVID-19. The CDC Order requires transportation
operators to require that all persons wear masks when boarding,
disembarking, and for the duration of travel, with certain exemptions.
Operators of transportation hubs, which include bus terminals and
subway stations, must require all persons to wear a mask when entering
and on the premises of a transportation hub. Subsequently, the
Transportation Security Administration (TSA) issued a Security
Directive on February 1, 2021 that implements the CDC Order that is
effective through September 13, 2021. The FTA published a notice of
request for emergency OMB approval on March 5, 2021. FTA created an
information collection system for respondents to provide the required
information to FTA. The system was opened to respondents on March 15,
2021 and the first reports were due on April 16, 2021.
The FTA plays a critical role in providing risk-based guidance and
support for the COVID-19 recovery efforts of the transit industry.
Accordingly, the FTA has required that respondents provide the
following information using a fillable electronic online application:
Transit Worker Counts: Total number of transit operators, other
frontline essential personnel, and other workers during the reporting
period.
COVID-19 Impacts on Transit Agency Service Levels: Yes or no
responses to indicate if the agency suspended service, reduced service,
or operated at normal levels during the reporting period.
COVID-19 Impacts on Transit Workforce: Cumulative counts of transit
worker COVID-19 positives, fatalities, recoveries, and unvaccinated
employees during the reporting period, and yes or no responses on
whether the agency is requiring workers to be vaccinated, whether the
agency has implemented the CDC Order and TSA Security Directive
requiring workers and passengers to wear masks, and whether the agency
is using FTA funds to provide vaccine access services.
Summary of Comments Received
FTA received comments to its notice of request for emergency OMB
approval from eight respondents during the comment period.
Five respondents noted concerns with providing data on the number
of vaccinated workers. FTA has clarified that while it expects all
respondent agencies to collect and submit COVID-19 data for all transit
workers, if an agency or its contractor is prohibited by State or local
laws from collecting data on whether their employees have been
vaccinated, the respondent should not include these workers in the
``Number of Workers Not Vaccinated'' field. Further, the form allows
agencies to leave this form blank in such a situation.
Two respondents noted concerns with collecting information on
worker COVID-19 cases, recoveries, and fatalities. Agencies should
submit COVID-19 data, to the extent that they are able to compile such
information, for all workers (employees and contractors) that support
the operation of the agency. FTA encourages agencies to report data
based on their current knowledge and understanding of the COVID-19
impacts on their organization.
Two respondents noted concerns with the feasibility of collecting
and reporting, and the level of effort required to collect and report
required data points. In an effort to reduce the burden on reporters,
FTA has leveraged its existing Transit Integrated Appian Development
Platform, the platform that hosts the National Transit Database (NTD),
to facilitate reporting through an online application. FTA also has
made available a Recurring Form Template which was developed to assist
Section 5311 recipients with collecting data on behalf of their
subrecipients in support of the Transit COVID-19 Response Program
Information Collection online application. The template includes the
same fields and options as the Recurring Form in the online
application.
One respondent requested clarification on how FTA will handle late
reports. Respondents may submit and/or revise their responses at any
time in either the Baseline Form or the Recurring Form to address
errors or if updated data becomes available.
One respondent requested the exclusion of Section 5311
subrecipients from the reporting requirement. The reporting requirement
is a condition of FTA funding assistance.
[[Page 33475]]
One respondent requested a 30-day extension of the comment period
for the notice of request for emergency OMB approval. Respondents will
have the opportunity to provide written comments to this notice.
Respondents: FTA will require this information, pursuant to 49
U.S.C. 5334, from recipients and subrecipients of FTA funds under the
Urbanized Area Formula Funding program (49 U.S.C. 5307) or the Formula
Grants for Rural Areas program (49 U.S.C. 5311) that operate transit
systems or pass through funds to sub-recipients that operate transit
systems. Recipients of FTA funds under the Enhanced Mobility of Seniors
and Individuals with Disabilities program (49 U.S.C. 5310) may provide
this information on a voluntary basis.
Estimated Average Total Annual Respondents: 2,390 respondents.
Estimated Average Total Responses: 28,680.
Estimated Annual Burden Hours: 10,356.
Frequency: Monthly through December 31, 2021, or the duration of
the COVID-19 public health emergency, whichever comes first.
Nadine Pembleton,
Director Office of Management Planning.
[FR Doc. 2021-13352 Filed 6-23-21; 8:45 am]
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