On Nov. 17, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report that identifies three performance accountability mechanisms for making federal transit programs more performance-based: providing financial rewards or penalties/sanctions; increasing or decreasing program flexibility as a performance incentive; and recognizing entities that achieve certain performance goals.

GAO explained that it created the report as Congress prepares to consider a new surface transportation authorization bill. Since most federal transit funding currently has no connection to performance, the agency examined the extent to which federal transit programs do use performance information in making decisions about funding distribution; reported on mechanisms for making these programs more performance-based and strategies for supporting their successful implementation; and showed examples of selected U.S. and foreign transit agencies that have used performance measurement in their planning and decisions and their views on the federal role in transit.

The full text of the report is available here.

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