Capital Investment Grants Program: FTA Should Improve the Effectiveness and Transparency of Its Reviews
Fast Facts
The Federal Transit Administration’s Capital Investment Grants program helps fund new transit systems or extensions of existing services. Transit agency projects compete for this funding.
FTA’s role is to evaluate and rate projects based on statutory criteria and make recommendations to Congress. Those seeking grants must follow a multi-step, multi-year development process during which FTA reviews information about the project.
FTA could make its review process more transparent and effective, such as by clearly specifying the factors it considers. We made 3 recommendations, including that FTA clarify its review methods and criteria.
A project extending commuter rail services in California is one of many projects that has received Federal Transit Administration Capital Investment Grants program funding.
commuter rail station
Highlights
What GAO Found
Sponsors of most of the 66 projects in the Federal Transit Administration's (FTA) Capital Investment Grants program told GAO that they have experienced delays moving through at least one aspect of the program's development process. This program is a significant source of federal financial assistance that transit agencies across the United States can use to build new transit systems or extend existing service. Projects compete for funding, and FTA's role is to evaluate and rate projects based on statutory criteria and make recommendations to Congress. Based on GAO's analysis, the causes of delays sponsors reported experiencing during the program's development process were frequently factors unique to each project or local in nature, such as challenges completing agreements with local utility companies or other rail operators.
FTA's policies and practices for the Capital Investment Grants program do not fully align with three practices GAO has previously identified that federal agencies should follow to help ensure the effectiveness and transparency of their reviews. FTA officials told GAO the agency takes steps to help sponsors understand the agency's review processes and the factors that affect FTA's reviews. However, GAO found that some sponsors reported aspects of FTA's reviews confusing or expected FTA to take action sooner than may be reasonable. The practices with which FTA's policies and actions do not fully align include:
Using a standards-based approach includes clearly specifying the methods an agency uses and the factors it considers when performing its reviews. GAO found that FTA provides sponsors with information that describes how it administers the Capital Investment Grants program and performs its reviews. However, based on GAOs' review of FTA documentation and interviews with sponsors, FTA does not always provide sponsors with information that clearly describes some of its methods, such as how it uses documents to help sponsors advance through the development process, or the timeframes for FTA's review and response to sponsors.
Documenting review processes and results includes communicating the results of agency decisions in a timely manner. GAO found that FTA documents its reviews but, according to several sponsors, did not always communicate decisions to sponsors in a timely manner, taking weeks, months, or longer. Some sponsors also told GAO that they thought FTA was sometimes reluctant to communicate certain decisions, such as the reason why their project was not advancing, to them in writing.
Incorporating public involvement helps position agencies to be better prepared to address issues that might affect their reviews. GAO found that FTA's current approach to incorporating public involvement largely relies on informal mechanisms, such as meeting with sponsors at industry conferences and workshops, and that FTA has used a more formal mechanism in the past to solicit public comment. While FTA's approach has benefits, some sponsors told GAO that the frequency of meetings has varied over the years or that there were limitations with FTA's approach as not all sponsors attend those meetings.
Why GAO Did This Study
FTA's Capital Investment Grants program helps fund investments in public transit in the United States. To be considered for funding through the program, sponsors of projects, such as investments in rail transit, must complete a multi-step, multi-year development process outlined in statute and meet FTA requirements.
The Moving Ahead For Progress in the 21st Century Act includes a provision for GAO to biennially review FTA's implementation of this program. This report discusses: (1) the extent to which, if at all, sponsors reported experiencing delays moving through the program's development process and (2) the extent to which FTA's policies and practices for the program help ensure the effectiveness and transparency of FTA's reviews. GAO reviewed relevant laws and FTA guidance and compared FTA's policies and practices with three systematic practices that help ensure the effectiveness and transparency of agency reviews. GAO also interviewed FTA officials and the sponsors of the 66 projects in the program as of February 2018.
Recommendations
GAO recommends that FTA take steps to: (1) clarify aspects of the methods it uses and factors it considers when reviewing projects, (2) review agency guidance to identify aspects that may be outdated or confusing, and (3) communicate information, such as the reason why a project is not advancing, to sponsors in a timely manner. FTA concurred with reviewing agency guidance but disagreed with the other recommendations, stating additional action is not needed for such purposes. But GAO believes FTA needs further action to help ensure the effectiveness and transparency of its reviews.
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Transportation | The FTA Administrator should take steps to provide information to Congress and sponsors to better clarify how FTA applies the methods and factors it considers when performing its review of sponsors' projects. Clarification could include how FTA uses documents, such as project roadmaps, to help sponsors advance through the development process; estimated time frames for reviewing submissions and responding to sponsors' requests; and how FTA considers geographic diversity of projects in its decision-making. (Recommendation 1) |
DOT did not concur with this recommendation. At the time of GAO's report, the Department stated that it believes FTA already provides ample information to Congress, stakeholders and project sponsors. However, in light of the findings in the report, GAO continues to believe FTA could clarify certain aspects of its review process to help sponsors navigate the development process, bridge gaps in expectations, and address the areas of confusion project sponsors mentioned. For example, as noted in the report, FTA communicates the required time frame to respond to projects, but there are many interim steps and project sponsors reported being unaware of the pace of FTA's decision-making process. In March 2024 DOT stated that FTA's position on this recommendation has not changed. Specifically, FTA does not anticipate taking action on this recommendation in their planned guidance update.
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| Department of Transportation | The FTA Administrator should take steps to review all agency guidance pertaining to the Capital Investment Grants program's development process and identify aspects that may be outdated or confusing for sponsors, and communicate to Congress and sponsors the steps needed to update FTA's guidance or otherwise provide sponsors with more current information on the Capital Investment Grants program. As part of FTA's efforts, FTA could obtain feedback from sponsors and the industry on these issues as appropriate. (Recommendation 2) |
The Federal Transit Administration's (FTA) Capital Investment Grants program helps fund investments in public transit in the United States. Projects compete for funding, and FTA's role is to evaluate and rate projects based on statutory criteria and make recommendations to Congress. In 2020, we reported that FTA's policies and practices for the Capital Investment Grants program did not fully align with a standards-based approach that federal agencies should follow to help ensure the effectiveness and transparency of their reviews, as we have previously identified. We found that FTA provides project sponsors with information that describes how it administers the Capital Investment Grants program and performs its reviews in its Final Interim Policy Guidance and other agency guidance. That guidance, last updated in 2016, discusses, among other things, how to enter and proceed through the project development process. However, some of FTA's publicly available guidance is either unclear or outdated, and some project sponsors reported aspects of FTA's reviews confusing. At the time of our review, FTA officials told us they have not updated certain aspects of their guidance for the Capital Investment Grants program due to Congressional actions constraining FTA from developing and issuing any new policy guidance and that they provide sponsors with current information about the program on FTA's website. Leaving outdated guidance on its website reduces FTA's ability to use a standards-based approach, because it reduces the clarity of what standards FTA is currently following in its reviews and makes it less transparent to project sponsors. To address these limitations, we recommended that FTA take steps to review all agency guidance pertaining to the Capital Investment Grants program's development process and identify aspects that may be outdated or confusing for sponsors and communicate to Congress and sponsors the steps needed to update FTA's guidance or otherwise provide sponsors with more current information on the Capital Investment Grants program. As part of these efforts, FTA could obtain feedback from sponsors and the industry on these issues as appropriate. In 2022, we confirmed that FTA had taken steps to implement this recommendation by reviewing and updating its guidance. Congress passed legislation lifting the prohibition on FTA's ability to undertake policy guidance updates. FTA reviewed the Capital Investment Grants program guidance and subsequently published in July 2021 a Request for Information Concerning the Capital Investment Grants Program in the Federal Register, which sought input from the industry on improvements that could be made to the evaluation process for projects seeking funding from the Capital Investment Grants Program. In addition, in March 2022, FTA published a Notice of Availability of Initial Guidance Proposals for the Capital Investment Grants Program. This notice invited public comment on proposed changes to the Capital Investment Grants program guidance. In January 2023, after review and consideration of those comments, FTA issued updated guidance covering recent changes to the program and stated the intention to propose a more comprehensive update of the guidance in the future. By taking steps to address sponsors' concerns that aspects of FTA's guidance are outdated or confusing, FTA is better positioned to align its policies and procedures with the systematic practice of using a standards-based approach, which demonstrates to project sponsors and Congress that the agency's reviews for the Capital Investment Grants program are effective and transparent.
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| Department of Transportation | The FTA Administrator should take steps to ensure its staff communicates information, such as the reason why a project is not advancing, to sponsors in a timely manner and in writing upon the sponsor's request. (Recommendation 3) |
DOT did not concur with this recommendation. At the time of GAO's report, the Department stated that FTA already does this and plans to continue to do so. The Department also noted that FTA provided GAO with examples of its communication with project sponsors regarding the status of projects and reiterated that FTA staff are in communication with project sponsors on a recurring basis to discuss their projects. However, in light of the concerns raised by the findings in the report, GAO continues to believe FTA staff could take steps to ensure its staff communicate information to project sponsors in a timely manner and in writing upon request. For example, as noted in the report, several project sponsors GAO interviewed told stated that it took weeks, months, or longer for FTA to make certain decisions, and that FTA did not communicate information to them in a timely manner. In the report, GAO noted the value of documenting agency review decisions and informing sponsors in a timely manner so that the project sponsor can promptly address potential problems. Without FTA taking action to ensure FTA staff communicates information to project sponsors in a timely manner and in writing upon request, some project sponsors may continue to have questions about FTA actions. In March 2024 DOT stated that FTA's position on this recommendation has not changed. Specifically, FTA does not anticipate taking action on this recommendation in their planned guidance update.
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