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Federal Transit Administration could probe SEPTA safety standards following rash of crashes
There are rumblings that the National Transit Administration (FTA) could join the National Transportation Safety Board's (NTSB) investigation into a rash of SEPTA crashes, including one that killed a 72-year-old passenger. The FTA could probe SEPTA's safety standards, which may result in a new safety plan which the transit system will have to adhere to or risk sharp penalties.
PHILADELPHIA - As the National Transportation Safety Board's (NTSB) investigates a rash of SEPTA crashes, other agencies are set to get involved.
Initial rumblings suggested that the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) could also probe SEPTA's safety standards.
Video shows SEPTA trolley rolling into historic Philadelphia building, 3 people hurt
A spokesperson for SEPTA said the trolley was out of service when it rolled from the trolley yard into the building with a mechanic on board.
After the report aired on FOX 29 on Tuesday evening, the FTA, an overnight arm of the Department of Transportation, said it is part of the probe of SEPTA's recent trolley crash.
As SEPTA conducts its own investigation, the FTA could decide to perform a deep-dive investigation of the agency's safety procedures, similar to a probe they did in Boston.
FTA officials say the agency will consider appropriate actions if it receives additional information on the SEPTA crashes.
SEPTA vehicles were involved in five crashes in July alone, including a violent collision between two buses on Roosevelt Boulevard that claimed the life of a 72-year-old woman and injured others.
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New video reveals moment two SEPTA buses collide
Police say one person has died as a result of a crash of two SEPTA buses as several others were taken to area hospitals.
In another incident, three more people were hurt when a SEPTA trolley rolled out of a repair depot in Southwest Philadelphia and smashed into a historic house.
SEPTA Spokesperson Andrew Busch said the transit authority is "still looking at" what caused each of the incidents.
"We wouldn't see the Federal Transit Administration oversight as a black eye. What we are very concerned about is the five incidents," Busch told FOX 29.
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SEPTA says it does not expect the FTA to take control, but it could draw up a safety plan with recommendations that SEPTA must follow or face sharp penalties, like the loss of federal dollars.
Any funding cuts are a threat for an agency facing what it calls a "fiscal cliff" when its COVID money ends.