These 16  programs are administered by DOT, HHS, Education, and DOL. As the  table shows, transportation is not the primary purpose of most of these  programs. Extent of Spending on Services for the Transportation- Disadvantaged Is Not Fully Known but Is in the Billions of Dollars

Available information shows that federal programs spent an estimated $2.4  billion on transportation services for transportation-disadvantaged  populations in fiscal year 2001, and additional state and local spending for  these populations was several hundred million dollars more. The amount spent on transportation services by the remaining 33 federal  programs is unknown, mainly because the majority of programs do not  require recipients of federal funds to report transportation spending  information to the federal agency. Coordination Efforts Vary, but Some Successful Efforts Show Promising Results

Efforts to improve services and achieve cost savings through coordination  of transportation activities among agencies at all levels of government  vary. The strategic and annual performance plans of the other federal agencies  that fund transportation services for the transportation-disadvantaged  generally do not mention coordination of such services. Although these two agencies comprise the  majority of funding for transportation that we were able to identify, the  Departments of Labor and Education also have a significant number of  programs—more than one-third of the total—that provide services to the  transportation-disadvantaged. Potential Options to Improve Coordination

Federal, state, and local officials, as well as experts in the area, have  suggested three potential options to improve coordination of  transportation services among federal programs: (1) harmonizing  standards and requirements among federal programs, (2) expanding  interagency forums and providing and disseminating additional guidance  and information on coordination, and (3) providing financial incentives or  coordination mandates. To promote and enhance federal, state, and local transportation  coordination activities, we recommend that the Secretaries of the  Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, Education, and  Transportation take the following actions:   As member agencies of the Coordinating Council on Access and  Mobility, ensure that the long-term goals in the Council’s strategic plan  have clear links to the individual tasks in its action plan and that these  actions are tied to measurable annual performance goals. In  particular:    The Department of Health and Human Services provided written  comments on the draft of this report which are presented and evaluated in  appendix V. The department noted that it has initiated actions to  implement our recommendations, including (1) strengthening the linkage  between the Coordinating Council’s strategic and action plans, (2)  reviewing the department-wide strategic plan for opportunities to reflect  its transportation coordination efforts, (3) developing coordination  guidance, and (4) linking the Coordinating Council’s Web site to the  Department of Health and Human Services’ Web site. The Departments of  Transportation and Health and Family Services are trying to coordinate  Medicaid transportation.
Why GAO Did This Study

Millions of Americans are unable to provide their own transportation--or even use public transportation--for Medicaid appointments, Head Start classes, job training, or other services. Such "transportation disadvantaged" persons are often disabled, elderly, or low income. Various federal programs are authorized to provide transportation services to them. GAO was asked to (1) identify the federal programs that fund such transportation services and the amount spent on them, (2) assess the extent of coordination among the various programs, and (3) identify any obstacles to coordination and potential ways to overcome such obstacles.

What GAO Found

Sixty-two federal programs--most of which are administered by the Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, Education, and Transportation--fund transportation services for the transportation disadvantaged. The full amount these programs spend on transportation is unknown because transportation is not always tracked separately from other spending. However, available information (i.e., estimated or actual outlays or obligations) on 29 of the programs shows that federal agencies spent at least an estimated $2.4 billion on these services in fiscal year 2001. Additional spending by states and localities is also not fully known but is at least in the hundreds of millions of dollars. Efforts to improve services and achieve cost savings through coordination of transportation activities (through sharing resources or information or consolidating services under a single agency) among federal agencies vary. The Coordinating Council on Access and Mobility--a body with representation from the Departments of Transportation and Health and Human Services--has undertaken some activities to improve coordination. However, other agencies that administer a substantial number of programs for the transportation-disadvantaged, such as the Departments of Labor and Education, are not part of the Council. In addition, the Coordinating Council's strategic plan is not linked to its action plan and contains few measurable performance goals. The strategic and annual performance plans of the Departments of Transportation and Health and Human Services contain few references to coordination relating to their subagencies and programs that fund transportation services for the transportation disadvantaged, and the plans of the Departments of Labor and Education do not mention coordinating these services. Obstacles impeding coordination include concern among administrators that their own participants might be negatively affected, program rules that limit use by others, and limited guidance and information on coordination. To mitigate these obstacles, officials and experts suggested making federal standards more consistent, creating a clearinghouse or better Web site to facilitate interagency communication and provide better guidance on coordination, and providing financial incentives or instituting mandates to coordinate.