Transit agencies must use the National Transit Database (NTD) Internet Reporting system to provide their Safety and Security data via reports to the Federal Transit Administration (FTA). NTD Internet Reporting is the online means for transit agencies to enter, review and revise data, and submit reports. It provides for timely and accurate reporting. All tasks and requirements for the NTD can be fulfilled via this system.
This section provides Internet Reporting information for the Safety and Security report.
There are no changes to Safety and Security Internet reporting for CY 2009.
Numerous measures have been taken to ensure that all data entered into the Internet Reporting system is safe and available only to those with proper access. The NTD servers and network are secured behind a firewall. The website operates the secured web protocol, https, and the entire site is password protected. Additionally, multiple server and database protection layers protect the database files.
Accessing Internet Reporting
Internet Reporting is accessed through the NTD Homepage.
To access Internet Reporting:
- Connect to the Internet via your Internet service provider (ISP)
- Verify your Internet Browser Settings
- Access the NTD website at www.ntdprogram.gov
- Access your transit agency’s Safety and Security report via the Internet Reporting link, which is located at the bottom left of the screen.
Connecting to the Internet
Use
your Internet service provider to connect to the Internet. Internet Reporting
requires a web browser that is at least a 6.x version (Internet Explorer 6.0).
If you don’t have the latest version of the browser, go to Microsoft.com (or any other ISP that you may use, for example: Netscape.com) to download the latest version free of charge.
Verifying Your Internet Browser Settings
Verify
that your browser is set to check for newer versions of stored pages with each
visit to the page.
In
Internet Explorer, this is done by accessing Tools > Internet Options >
General > Temporary Internet Files Settings > Every Visit to Page.
In Netscape, this is done via Edit > Preferences > Advanced > Cache > Every Time.
The National Transit Database Website
The NTD Home Page offers the following information and data for reporters and others interested in the NTD:
- Internet Reporting Login link.
- What is the NTD?: An overview of the NTD program, milestones in transit history, how to obtain an NTD ID number and an overview of the NTD reporting forms.
Reporting Manuals
- Annual Reporting: Access to .html and .pdf versions of the current Annual Reporting Manual, an overview of reporting changes and highlights, reporting manual archives, etc.
- Monthly Reporting: Access to .html and .pdf versions of the current Monthly Reporting Manual, an overview of the reporting changes and highlights, reporting manual archives, etc.
- Safety and Security Reporting: Access to .html and .pdf versions of the current Safety and Security Reporting Manual, Newsletters, Safety and Security FAQs, an overview of reporting changes and highlights, reporting manual archives, etc.
- Rural Reporting: Access to the Rural Reporting Manual, an overview of reporting changes and highlights, reporting manual archives, etc.
Data, Publications and Reference Materials
- NTD Glossary: HTML version of the NTD Glossary of transit terms.
- NTD Reference Materials: NTD reference materials such as the Uniform System of Accounts, FTA Circulars and Federal Register Notices.
- Access to NTD Data: HTML and downloadable .pdf publications, including the Data Tables, Profiles, National Transit Summaries and Trends, as well as Annual, Monthly and Historical databases and other data products.
NTD Resources
- FTA / NTD Presentations, Announcements and Updates: FTA / NTD presentations, new and useful information, interim updates to reporting requirements, etc.
- NTD Feedback: The mailing address, telephone number and fax number for the NTD Project site as well as an opportunity to provide comments or suggestions regarding the NTD Program.
- Seminars and Training: NTD Reporting Seminars and In-house Training information and registration
- Transit Agency Information by Region and External Links: Contact information for transit agencies reporting to the National Transit Database (NTD). Links to:
- Federal Transit Administration (FTA)
- FTA Safety and Security Office
- U. S. Department of Transportation (USDOT)
- National Transit Library
- American Public Transportation Association (APTA)
- Bureau of Transportation Statistics
- Accessibility.
Accessing the NTD Report
Clicking the Internet Reporting Login link will open the Internet Reporting Login page. You must enter your user name and password to gain access to NTD Report Home.
Level of Access
Internet Reporting provides six levels of access to Safety and Security:
- CEO access: Edit and submit the CEO Certification and all safety and security forms
- NTD contact person: Edit and submit safety and security forms
- Safety contact: Edit, submit and delete unneeded/unwanted S&S-40 forms
- Safety editor: Edit safety and security forms, but cannot submit forms
- Safety viewer: View safety and security forms only
- Security contact: Edit security form (S&S-50), but cannot submit forms.
User Names and Passwords
The system access level is determined by the user name. The first portion of the user name defines the access level and the last four digits represent the agency’s NTD ID. There are five types of user names corresponding to the four access levels available within Safety and Security:
- CEO - CEOxxxx
- NTD contact person - NTDxxxx
- Safety and security contact person - SFTYNTDxxxx
- Safety and security editor - SFTYEDTxxxx
- Safety and security viewer - SFTYVWRxxxx
- Security contact person - SECURITYxxxx.
Each agency is e-mailed this set of user names with a password for each. NTD reporters determine access within their organizations and distribute user names and passwords accordingly.
A user can change his / her password at any time. Refer to Sys Admin: Changing Your Password for additional information on this topic. Users should be aware that passwords expire every ninety days.
The CEO and NTD contact person use the same password for
both report areas. The CEO and NTD contact person may access all reporting areas
(Annual, Monthly and Safety and Security) from the Home tab.
Clicking the Internet Reporting Login link will open the Internet Reporting Login page. Enter your User Name and Password to gain access to Safety and Security Home.
HOME: Safety and Security Report Home Page and Program Structure
Reporting Structure
After completing the login process you will be taken to the Safety and Security Homepage. Click the Home tab near the top of any screen to return to the Homepage from another area.
The Safety and Security Homepage includes the following tabs:
- Home:The starting point when entering the NTD report. It displays the transit agency’s NTD analyst information and any project related announcements.
- e-File: The e-File screen lists provides for processing and tracking any special correspondence and auto generated emails.
- Annual: Access to the Annual reporting modules and forms.
- Safety and Security: This screen provides access to the NTD Safety and Security reporting forms for editing and submitting your report to FTA. Form-by-form instructions and reporting details for the Safety and Security Module are included in the NTD Safety and Security Reporting Manual. The Safety Contact person is responsible for submitting Safety and Security data to the NTD.
- Reports: Print and export several different reports (Incident Summary, All Reportable Incidents Detail, etc.). All reports have been developed to allow the agency to print each form or report without altering print settings to fit a form on the page. The reports listed will vary depending on access level.
- Communications: A listing of all e-mail and telephone communications.
- Sys Admin: Change Safety and Security passwords. You may only change your password. Should you need assistance contact your Safety and Security analyst.
- Help: Online version of the Safety and Security Reporting Manual.
Annual: Providing Access to the Identification (B-10) and Contacts (B-20) forms
These forms have been completed by the NTD contact person. These forms are not editable.
Communications Summary: Viewing a History of Correspondence with NTD
The Communications tab gives transit agencies a centralized area in which to view correspondence with the Federal Transit Administration's (FTA) National Transit Database (NTD) program. In addition, the correspondence view can be filtered to show only certain processes or communication types.
Sys Admin: Changing Your Password
The Sys Admin screen provides the ability to change your NTD password.
All passwords expire every ninety days. You can change your password at any time on the Sys Admin screen by specifying your current and new password. To be valid, a password must be at least eight characters long and contain at least one letter and one number. It cannot contain spaces. Passwords are case-sensitive. If you do not update your password within the ninety-day term, you will be forced to update your password when you first access the system once the ninety-day period has expired. The screen is similar to the one available on the Sys Admin screen and the same password rules apply.
Safety and Security: Providing Incident Data
Click on the Safety and Security screen provides access to the Safety and Security forms for editing and submitting your report to FTA.
Initially, only the Safety and Security Setup form (S&S-10), Safety and Security Chief Executive Officer Certification form (S&S-20), and the Security Configuration form (S&S-30) will be shown. Once the Safety and Security Setup form (S&S-10) and Security Configuration form (S&S-30) are completed and submitted, Internet Reporting will automatically generate two links at the top of the Safety and Security tab; File New Report and Quick link to the Safety and Security Monthly Summary Report.
To report a reportable incident, click the File New Report link to begin the Report Set Up wizard, which will help you to determine if a incident is either reportable or which report you will need to file (Reportable Incident Report form (S&S-40) or Safety and Security Monthly Summary form (S&S-50).
Once a report is completed, four data fields are populated to assist you with tracking and monitoring the status of your reports:
- Update user: Identifies the user entering or modifying the report
- Update date: If a report has been revised identifies the date of entry or modification
- Submit date: The date of the original submission
- Revision number: Each time a report is revised and resubmitted, the system will generate a revision number.
Form-by-form instructions and reporting details for the Safety and Security forms are included in the specific forms sections of this manual.
Reports: Viewing, Printing, and Exporting NTD Safety and Security Reports
Click on the Reports tab to display the Reports screen. This screen provides access to the Safety and Security reports.
- The following reports are available on the Reports screen:
- All Reportable Incidents Detail report
- Reportable Incidents Summary by Mode / Service report
- Safety and Security Monthly Summary Incidents by Mode / Service report
- Security Configuration Summary report.
All Reportable Incidents Detail report
Click on the All Reportable Incidents Detail report link to view the All Reportable Incidents Detail report.
Reportable Incidents Summary by Mode / Service report
Click on the Reportable Incidents Summary by Mode / Service report link to view a summary of all the reportable incidents by mode / service.
Safety and Security Monthly Summary Incidents by Mode / Service report
Click on the Safety and Security Monthly Summary Incidents Summary by Mode / Service report link to view a summary of all the Safety and Security Monthly Summary incidents by mode / type of service.
Security Configuration Summary report
Click on the Security Configuration Summary Report link to view a summary of the security configuration.
Help: Obtaining More Information
Click on the Help tab to display the Help screen. The Help screen provides access to the current Safety and Security Manual. The Help screen displays the table of contents for the Reporting Manual with links to each section of the manual.
Navigating Between Screens
Do not use the browser Back and Forward buttons to navigate between screens. Instead, use the Internet Reporting system buttons, tabs and links.
Saving a Form
A Save button is provided at the bottom of each Internet Reporting form. When entering information into a form it is strongly recommended that you save the form frequently. This will prevent the loss of data if your Internet connection is unexpectedly lost.
Also, Internet Reporting has an automatic time-out feature which will log you off of the system after a period of inactivity. It is strongly recommended that you save your work every 15 minutes. Otherwise, there is a risk that the next action you take on the system will result in the closure of the screen displayed in your browser and the loss of any data that you had not saved.
Deleting a Form
To delete a Major Incident report, open the incident report that is going to be deleted and scroll to the bottom of the screen. Following the Save, Submit, Print, and Close buttons, there is a Delete button. To delete the incident report, click the Delete button. A prompt stating, “You are about to delete this report. Do you wish to continue?” will appear. If you wish to delete this report, choose Ok. If you do not wish to delete this report, choose Cancel. After clicking OK, a Comment box asking the reason for deletion will appear. Please enter the reason for the deletion before clicking the Delete button.
After the Delete button has been chosen, you will be returned to the Safety and Security summary screen.
Viewing, Printing Reports
Reports can be generated within the Internet Reporting system from either the Reports tab or from the individual form screens.
Reports: Accessing Reports to Help Report Safety and Security Data
Click on the Reports tab to display the Reports screen. This screen provides access to several reports available to assist you in preparing your NTD Safety and Security report.
Please refer to the section on Printing for instructions on viewing and printing a report.
To open a report click the corresponding link on the Reports screen and the report will open Adobe Acrobat Viewer. You can print the report by clicking the Print button 
in the upper left corner of the viewer and click the Okay button on the resulting Print window.
Printing
Printing a Form Report from a Form Screen
Click on the Print button at the bottom of the Form screen to display the report in Adobe Acrobat Viewer; then click the Print button in the upper left corner of the viewer and click the Okay button on the resulting Print window.
To Print a Form Report from a Form Screen
Click on the Print button at the bottom of the Form screen to display the report in the window. Click the Print button in the upper left corner of the viewer. Then click the Okay button on the resulting Print window.