GAO Reports On Washington Transit

The GAO reports on the many successes at Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, but notes that capital planning should be enhanced.

1 minute read

August 6, 2001, 11:00 AM PDT

By Chris Steins @planetizen


In recent years, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s(WMATA) public transit system has experienced problems related to thesafety and reliability of its transit services, including equipmentbreakdowns, delays in scheduled service, unprecedented crowding ontrains, and some accidents and tunnel fires. At the same time, WMATA'sridership is at an all-time high and WMATA managers expect the numberof passengers to double over the next 25 years. As agreed with youroffices, this report addresses the following questions: (1) What challengesdoes WMATA face in operating and maintaining its Metrorail system?(2) What efforts has WMATA made to establish and monitor safety andsecurity within its transit system? (3) To what extent does WMATA followestablished best practices in planning, selecting, and budgeting for itscapital investments? Editor's note: The link below is to an Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) file.

Thanks to Center of Excellence for Sustainable Development

Friday, August 3, 2001 in U.S. General Accounting Office

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