Metro honored with 2024 American Public Transportation Association Gold Safety Award

Metro honored with 2024 American Public Transportation Association Gold Safety Award

The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) announced Metro as the recipient of this year’s Gold Safety Award for Heavy Rail Systems at the 2024 APTA Rail Conference in Cleveland, OH. The authority was awarded for its Station Overrun/Just Culture Pilot program.

In 2023, Metro’s Station Overrun/Just Culture Pilot established new processes in which safety events are examined fully for all underlying causes, such as flawed procedures, training, or contributing environmental conditions. An operator’s choices are closely examined to determine if they acted deliberately or not. The process provides managers with a standardized, consistent, and transparent approach to determine when discipline is appropriate or when alternative responses such as coaching, training, or process improvements would be more effective in preventing future incidents. This approach aims to hold individuals accountable while recognizing that humans are not perfect.

“The Station Overrun/Just Culture Pilot modified our investigative approach, procedures, and communication to ensure increased awareness and responsiveness between safety and operations,” said Metro Executive Vice President and Chief Operations Officer Brian Dwyer. “These adjustments are not only adaptable to any sized rail transportation agency, but we hope that they provide best practices and lessons learned that could be useful for any public transportation agency.” The APTA Gold Safety Award honors public transportation systems that have demonstrated innovative concepts or effective problem-solving techniques not previously applied in the public transportation industry.

Nominations are evaluated on four criteria: effectiveness, benefit level, innovation, and transferability. The top honor is the Gold Award, presented to organizations with the best example of a safety, security, or emergency management program.

For more information about the awards and a full list of winners, click here.