Protect Riders of Metrorail Public Transportation Act of 2015

Protect Riders of Metrorail Public Transportation Act of 2015

This bill authorizes the Department of Transportation (DOT), in carrying out the public transportation safety program, to:

• conduct inspections, investigations, audits, examinations, and testing of the equipment, facilities, rolling stock, and operations of the public transportation system of a recipient of financial assistance;
• make reports and issue directives with respect to the safety of a recipient's system;
• subpoena and depose any employee of a recipient or of a state safety oversight agency, subject to certain administrative requirements, in conjunction with an accident investigation or an investigation into a pattern or practice of conduct negatively affecting public safety; and
• investigate public transportation accidents and incidents and provide guidance to recipients regarding their prevention.

DOT may also administer state safety oversight activities for a rail fixed guideway system operating in more than two states, if the state safety oversight agency overseeing the system has become incapable of providing adequate safety oversight, until the states involved develop a state safety oversight program that DOT certifies as meeting specified criteria.