U.S. seeking to set transit safety rules

WASHINGTON - The Obama administration is proposing that the federal government oversee safety regulations for subway and light-rail systems after several accidents that killed or injured passengers.

It also wants to monitor bus operator fatigue, ban driver cell-phone use, and require seat belts on commercially operated buses to improve highway safety.

"Safety is our No. 1 priority when it comes to planes, trains and automobiles," Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in an e-mailed statement. "It only makes sense that we should be looking out for passengers who ride subways, too."

He is to release the full initiative Dec. 8 as he testifies before a House subcommittee overseeing transit.

Recent transit accidents in Washington, San Francisco, Boston, and Chicago have resulted in more than 200 injuries. After a Washington Metro crash June 22 that killed nine, LaHood formed a group to examine safety.

Jim Hall, a former chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, said the administration's proposal still left too much responsibility to states.

The Obama plan "appears to be a half-step in the right direction," said Hall, who served as NTSB head between 1993 and 2001.

While the administration has not said how it would pay to set up the new federal authority, cost should not be a sticking point, said Mark Rosenker, who headed the NTSB from 2005 through July of this year.

"How cheap do you get in safety?" he said.

For decades, the Federal Railroad Administration has regulated freight and commuter railroads, an arrangement that will not change under the proposal.

William Millar, president of the American Public Transportation Association, which represents transit authorities, said new federal mandates should come with the money to implement them.

Meanwhile, LaHood, who helped ban federal employees from texting while driving, proposed the commercial bus safety steps in a plan posted yesterday on the Transportation Department's Web site.

It drew concerns from Peter Pancuso, chief executive of the American Bus Association.

Requiring features such as seat belts, reinforced floors, and data recorders on buses may raise the cost of a motor coach 20 percent, he said.