Mass Transit: FTA Needs to Provide Clear Information and Additional Guidance on the New Starts Ratings Process

We reported that FTA's regulations did not reflect its existing policy favoring New Starts projects with a federal funding share that did not exceed 60 percent of total project funding (meaning a 40 percent non-federal match) and we recommended that FTA revise its regulations to be consistent with its policy. In response, Congress and FTA took actions that led to the implementation of this recommendation. Congress incorporated provisions into the SAFETEA-LU legislation passed in August, 2005, which stated that DOT cannot require more than a 20 percent non-federal match in its New Starts program. FTA explicitly incorporated this SAFETEA-LU provision regarding the 20 percent match in two documents (FTA's May 16, 2007 guidance and its 2006 Annual Report on New Starts), noting that project sponsors were still encouraged to request the lowest possible federal share, given limited funds and the number of projects in the New Starts pipeline.

FTA completed several actions and has other ongoing efforts to address the recommendation, including: (1) in both 2003 and 2004, FTA provided additional guidance and instructions to sponsors on the practices that must be followed in preparing the Transportation System User Benefits (TSUB) measure, including developing travel demand forecasting assumptions, measuring travel time savings, using the Summit software in developing the measure, and calculating costs for the measure; (2) FTA also updated its detailed technical guidance on travel forecasting methods and the interpretation and use of travel forecast data, which it made available to sponsors through its web site; (3) FTA provided additional guidance in July 2003 on how it would evaluate the TSUB measures in the fiscal year (FY) 2005 rating process; (4) FTA held several special workshops for transit agencies on TSUB benefits, travel forecasting, and development of transit alternatives; and (5) FTA initiated a proactive outreach to project sponsors to help them prepare and evaluate the TSUB measure, identifying weaknesses in their proposed measure and suggesting improvements. As a result, the number of projects that were "not rated" due to missing information on the TSUB declined in the FY 2005 ratings cycle. In addition, FTA has a number of ongoing planned improvements to its guidance, including developing a Users Guide to the Summit Software and developing TSUB case studies and exemplary practices.