DOT’s Evaluation Has Been Delayed and May Not Address Significant Aspects of the Job Access Program

DOT has not reported to the Congress on the results of an evaluation of the  Job Access Program, as TEA-21 required. DOT therefore is missing an  important opportunity to provide information that could be useful as the  Congress considers whether to reauthorize the program in 2003. Notwithstanding the information given to us by FTA program officials  about the proposed contents for their report to the Congress, for the  following reasons we continue to believe that contents of the final report  are uncertain, including whether the report would evaluate the program  against both program goals and selection criterion:   First, FTA’s list of the performance indicators that FTA proposed for its  report to the Congress did not specify how FTA would collect these  additional performance data—an important consideration given the  results of FTA’s earlier efforts to collect performance data from the Job  Access grantees. Varied Services Delivered and Collaboration Improved, but Projects’ Sustainability and Use of Federal Funds Can Be Improved

In awarding over $355 million in grants in 42 states through fiscal year 2002,  the Job Access Program funded such services as extending existing bus  routes to serve low-income populations and implementing services that  provide information to clients about available transportation services and  their use. Forty-one percent of the Job Access  grantees used vans to serve low-income people. Another 47  percent of the grantees responded that they were uncertain about their  ability to continue their services. The remaining 12 percent reported that  they would continue their projects at the same or expanded levels after the  end of their Job Access funding. Conclusions

Because DOT has not evaluated the Job Access Program and reported the  findings to the Congress as required by law, the department is missing an  opportunity to provide important information on a timely basis to the  Congress on the effectiveness of the program. FTA program officials have  not provided us with a specific date for issuing the report because the draft  must still be reviewed and approved by the Office of the Secretary of  Transportation and the Office of Management and Budget before release to  the Congress. In addition, the usefulness of the report is also in doubt: If  the report contains information only on employment sites, then it would  address only the first program goal of providing transportation services to  low-income people while ignoring the other goal of promoting  collaboration in the design, financing, and delivery of those services and  the criterion of ensuring that Job Access projects are financially  sustainable after the end of program funding. Include in the report to the Congress, an evaluative methodology that  examines the Job Access Program’s effectiveness in meeting its goals of  (1) establishing transportation-related services that help low-income  individuals, including welfare recipients, reach jobs and employment  support services, such as child care and training, and (2) increasing  planning, financial, and service delivery collaboration among local  transportation providers, human services agencies, and others in  providing access to employment and employment support services. The Transportation Equity Act has mandated the GAO  for the 21st Century (TEA-21) to periodically examine  how the Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit  Administration (FTA) is implementing the Access to  Jobs Program (Job Access/Reverse Commute Program).
Why GAO Did This Study

Pursuant to Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21), GAO periodically reports on the implementation of the Job Access and Reverse Commute (Job Access) program. The program is designed to assist low-income people in accessing employment opportunities. This report examines the Department of Transportation's (DOT) efforts to evaluate the program and report the results to the Congress. GAO also examined (1) transportation and related services provided by the program; (2) whether the program fosters collaboration between Job Access grantees and others in the design, financing, and delivery of those services; and (3) whether Job Access services would be financially sustainable after the end of Job Access funding.

What GAO Found

Since 1999, DOT has awarded over $355 million for 352 Job Access grants in 42 states to help low-income people get to job opportunities and job support services, such as training and child care. Job Access grantees used various approaches to provide transportation for this purpose, such as expanding existing bus service, adding new areas to be served by an existing fixed transit route, or enhancing the frequency of the service. The program has met its goal of encouraging collaboration among transportation, human service, and other community-based agencies in Job Access service design, implementation, and financing. However, most of the program's services are not financially sustainable. For example, 12 percent of Job Access grantees indicated that they could continue their services after the end of program funding, while 41 percent reported they would likely terminate or decrease services, and 47 percent were uncertain about their ability to continue those services. DOT has not evaluated the Job Access program or reported to the Congress, as TEA-21 requires. The department therefore is missing an opportunity to provide timely information to the Congress that could assist it in deciding whether to reauthorize the program in 2003. GAO has several concerns about DOT's plans to evaluate the Job Access program. For its evaluation, DOT initially planned to use one performance measure--employment sites served. However, using a methodology that is based on this measure would yield limited information because it only partially addresses the program's goal of providing transportation to low-income people and does not address other program goals and criteria. Federal Transit Administration (FTA) program officials informed GAO that they also plan to use other performance measures, but they did not provide sufficient detail for GAO to comment on the quality of their evaluation. Moreover, the final report's date of issuance and its contents are uncertain because the report has yet to be reviewed and approved by the Office of the Secretary of Transportation, and the Office of Management and Budget. DOT officials did not provide GAO with an estimated date for submitting the report to the Congress.