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UMTA's Research and Development Program Should Pay Closer Attention to Transit Industry Needs

CED-82-17 Published: Jan 20, 1982. Publicly Released: Jan 20, 1982.
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Highlights

GAO reviewed the Urban Mass Transportation Administration's (UMTA) research and development program to identify management weaknesses in the program. UMTA improves long-term mass transportation productivity, efficiency, and service by providing its grantees with innovative equipment, service concepts, and management techniques for providing transit services.

Recommendations

Recommendations for Executive Action

Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Urban Mass Transportation Administration The Administrator of UMTA should establish a policy requiring UMTA research offices to identify systematically the industry's needs within their individual mission and responsibility areas and to analyze those needs to determine research priorities.
Closed – Not Implemented
UMTA has reorganized the research and development program, but the problems still exist because UMTA lacks formal procedures for implementing its research policies.
Urban Mass Transportation Administration The Administrator of UMTA should require program managers to assess thoroughly the transit industry's willingness and ability to carry out a proposed research project on its own. In cases where industry is developing or experimenting with innovative equipment, concepts, or techniques, UMTA involvement should be limited to testing, evaluating, and disseminating the results.
Closed – Not Implemented
UMTA has reorganized the research and development program, but the problems still exist because UMTA lacks formal procedures for implementing its research policies.
Urban Mass Transportation Administration The Administrator of UMTA should require program managers to explore and identify potential barriers to industry's acceptance and use of proposed research and to work to overcome these barriers as part of the research process.
Closed – Not Implemented
UMTA has reorganized the research and development program, but the problems still exist because UMTA lacks formal procedures for implementing its research policies.

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Topics

Science and Technology
Mass transitTransportation planningTransportation policiesTransportation researchUrban transportationResearch and developmentRailAutomatic vehicle monitoringRapid transitReorganization