FTA launches transit safety, performance dashboard

The Federal Transit Administration yesterday launched a new online tool, Transit Moves America, to make it easier for passengers to find safety, security and performance data for public transit systems across the country.

The Transit Moves America dashboard displays data collected by the FTA through the National Transit Database. Safety and security related data will be refreshed monthly, while accessibility and efficiency data will be updated annually, FTA officials said in a press release.

Users can view national averages for safety and security metrics, data from individual transit agencies and data by transit mode — rail or bus. Additionally, the dashboard shows operating costs per passenger trip for the 25 largest urban hubs in the country.

"The Transit Moves America tool will help stakeholders see which transit agencies are enhancing safety and the customer experience and which ones are failing to deliver tangible improvements for their customers," said FTA Acting Deputy Administrator Matthew Cahill. "This new dashboard brings key performance data out of obscure spreadsheets and puts it in the hands of American transit customers to make better-informed travel decisions."