Bus Rehabilitation Issues Need Attention
RCED-84-81
Published: Apr 09, 1984. Publicly Released: Apr 09, 1984.
Skip to Highlights
Highlights
GAO examined bus rehabilitation issues to: (1) determine the costs and benefits of bus rehabilitation; (2) analyze the Urban Mass Transportation Administration's (UMTA) bus rehabilitation policies; and (3) review UMTA efforts to determine the costs and benefits of bus rehabilitation.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Transportation | The Secretary of Transportation should direct the Administrator, UMTA, to make the funding formula for bus rehabilitation identical to that for new bus purchases until the results of its cost-benefit study are known. |
On June 17, 1985, UMTA issued guidance to transit systems providing that Section 9 funds for replacing and rebuilding buses falls under the same guidelines and financial assistance rates.
|
| Department of Transportation | The Secretary of Transportation should direct the Administrator, UMTA, to revise its proposed cost-benefit study of rehabilitation to include a comparison of the performance and cost of new as well as rehabilitated buses, a sufficient sample size, and a time frame for data collection which would allow for recognizing changes in new and rehabilitated operation and maintenance costs. |
UMTA found that insufficient data exist to permit an accurate comparison of the cost of new buses with rehabilitated ones and that it would take too long to develop reliable data. Furthermore, the number of bus rehabilitations is currently low.
|
Full Report
Public Inquiries
Topics
Federal aid for transportationFederal fundsGrantsMass transit fundingMotor vehiclesRehabilitation programsUrban transportationTransportation policiesData collectionMass transit