http://www.oig.dot.gov/rss.jsp?subject=32 The 10 most recent releases on the U.S. DoT OIG web site related to Transit en-US webmaster@oig.dot.gov (OIG Webmaster) http://www.oig.dot.gov/images/dot.gif http://www.oig.dot.gov/rss.jsp?subject=32 http://www.oig.dot.gov/item.jsp?id=2579 The Office of Inspector General is initiating an audit of the of the Federal Transit Administrations (FTAs) oversight of Phase 1 of the Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. The project uses both American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 funds and nonARRA Federal New Starts funds. Our audit objectives are to (1) evaluate the effectiveness of FTAs oversight of the Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project and (2) assess potential safety concerns. Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.oig.dot.gov/item.jsp?id=2579 http://www.oig.dot.gov/item.jsp?id=2582 The Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued a management advisory to the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) on a potentially serious safety issue related to the adequacy of foundations at a segment of the Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project. This issue remains unresolved a year after we first brought it to FTAs attention in a November 2008 Hotline complaint. A credible source contacted OIG asserting that the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, the project sponsor, had not conducted sufficient testing on eleven pier foundations and their underlying steel piles that were built 30 years ago, and will support a portion of the projects new guiderail. The FTAs response to our Hotline complaint was incomplete and inconsistent with subsequent engineering information that FTA provided to us. In our management advisory, we prompted FTA to conduct a review of project management performance to assess whether adequate oversight is being conducted on the project. In addition, we urged FTA to develop a plan outlining how it will ensure that sufficient testing of the existing foundations will take place before additional construction is undertaken at the locations in question. Finally, we encouraged FTA to outline additional steps it plans to take to enhance future oversight of the project. We will consider actions taken as a result of this management advisory as part of our planned audit of FTAs Dulles Project oversight, which we announced on November 19, 2009. Thu, 22 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.oig.dot.gov/item.jsp?id=2582 http://www.oig.dot.gov/item.jsp?id=2404 The Office of Inspector General plans to conduct an audit of the major risks facing the New Jersey Transit Corporations Access to the Regions Core (ARC) Project in Northern New Jersey and the Federal Transit Administrations (FTA) oversight of this capital project, which is now estimated to cost approximately $9 billion. The project is in preliminary engineering status and is under consideration for a $3 billion grant through FTAs New Starts programcurrently the largest amount slated for any New Starts project. The objective of this audit is to determine whether FTAs oversight provides reasonable assurance that cost, schedule, funding, and other risks have been identified and strategies are underway to mitigate them. Fri, 12 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.oig.dot.gov/item.jsp?id=2404 http://www.oig.dot.gov/item.jsp?id=2359 On September 26, 2008 we issued our report on the results of our review of the Federal Transit Administrations (FTA) Lower Manhattan Recovery Projects involving a Federal funding commitment of $4.55 billion. Our objectives were to assess (1) the status of each project, including costs, funding, schedules, and grantees oversight and (2) any risks that may adversely impact completion of each project. We also evaluated FTAs oversight and the activities of the project management oversight contractors FTA has assigned to each project.FTA and its project grantees face key challenges, including mitigating risks posed by estimated cost increases and schedule delays, ensuring grantees provide timely status information and address project management issues that FTA has identified, assessing ways to improve the use of FTAs oversight tools, and identifying reliable funding sources to cover estimated cost overruns above the Federal cap of $4.55 billion. Due to significant estimated cost increases and schedule completion delays, tough choices lie ahead. Project grantees will likely have to provide their own funding to complete the projects as designed, or propose to significantly reduce the scope of one or more of the projects, potentially diminishing the benefits that the projects will provide to travelers in New York City.We recommended that FTA continue the strong oversight efforts already underway and take the following actions to enhance its oversight: (1) work with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) and the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey (Port Authority) to expeditiously finalize a single set of realistic, mutually agreedto cost and schedule estimates that reflect all potential risks; (2) finalize action plans with the Port Authority to address project management issues that FTA has identified and carefully track the Port Authoritys progress in carrying out these plans; (3) assess what additional actions could be taken to ensure that grantees address the agreedupon risks identified through FTAs risk management process and that FTAs recovery plans are used to mitigate those risks; (4) request that MTA and the Port Authority submit financial plans that identify sources of local funding to cover likely estimated cost overruns; and (5) ensure that the Lower Manhattan Recovery Office and its project management oversight contractor assigned to the Route 9A North highway project meet with the Federal Highway Administration on a periodic basis to encourage better coordination between all parties. FTA commented that it generally concurred with our recommendations. Fri, 26 Sep 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.oig.dot.gov/item.jsp?id=2359 http://www.oig.dot.gov/item.jsp?id=2339 In a letter dated January 31, 2008, Senator Tom CoburnRanking Member of the Senate Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, Federal Services, and International Securityrequested that we review the San Francisco city governments use of Federal transit funds for the citys bus and transit system, the Municipal Railway (Muni). Specifically, Senator Coburn asked that we determine if the city had used those funds for unauthorized purposes, including directly paying for lobbying activities or replacing city transportation funds diverted for lobbying activities. Federal regulations prohibit the use of Federal funds for such activities. In summary, we found no evidence that the city had used Federal transit funds for unauthorized purposes. We also found that Federal Transit Administration and Muni controls were adequate to ensure proper use of these funds. Wed, 20 Aug 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.oig.dot.gov/item.jsp?id=2339 http://www.oig.dot.gov/item.jsp?id=2329 On July 9, 2008, we issued our audit of FTAs Oversight of Pioneer Valley Transit Authority (PVTA) Electric Bus Cooperative Agreement. Our audit was related to PVTAs agreement with ElectraStor of Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Our audit found that ElectraStor could not provide complete or reliable records to support the $4.04 million in Federal reimbursements it received or support the progress claimed. We also found that neither FTA nor PVTA adequately carried out the oversight specified in the agreement. The audit recognized that FTA has taken positive steps to improve its oversight of research grants and cooperative agreements since our audit began. FTA agreed with our recommendations that included developing an action plan to seek recovery of the funds and obtaining a final PVTA report disclosing research results. FTA also agreed with our recommendations to review all projects associated with the FTA manager responsible for the cooperative agreement and establish milestones and reporting requirements for the internal group it plans to establish to ensure its corrective action plan is implemented and functioning. Wed, 09 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.oig.dot.gov/item.jsp?id=2329 http://www.oig.dot.gov/item.jsp?id=2259 The San Francisco Municipal Railway (Muni) is the citys public transit agency, which receives grants from the Federal Transit Administration. In a letter dated January 31, 2008, Senator Tom CoburnRanking Member of the Senate Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, Federal Services, and International Securityrequested that we review the San Francisco city governments use of Federal transit funds appropriated for Muni. Consistent with the Senators request, our objective is to determine if the city is using those funds for unauthorized purposes, including directly paying for lobbying activities or replacing city transportation funds diverted for lobbying activities. Wed, 19 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.oig.dot.gov/item.jsp?id=2259 http://www.oig.dot.gov/item.jsp?id=2243 The Office of Inspector General is undertaking an audit of the Federal Transit Administrations Cost Estimating Process in the New Starts program. The objectives of this audit are to (1) evaluate the process that FTA uses to ensure that capital cost estimates for New Starts projects are credible, complete, and meet applicable requirements; and (2) assess the role of project management oversight consultants (PMOCs) in reviewing capital cost estimates and determine whether FTA makes effective use of their work. Tue, 26 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.oig.dot.gov/item.jsp?id=2243 http://www.oig.dot.gov/item.jsp?id=2209 The Office of Inspector General is undertaking an audit of TransportationRelated PublicPrivate Partnerships. The objectives of this audit are to: (1)determine the cost advantages and disadvantages to the public sector of PPP transactions compared to the more traditional financing of transportation infrastructure projects through the issuance of debt by government or quasigovernment entities in the public or municipal bond markets; (2)evaluate the benefits and value realized through PPPs to both the private and public sector in order to determine the overall equity of the transactions; and (3) determine whether, and to what extent, PPPs result in operating efficiencies. Wed, 23 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.oig.dot.gov/item.jsp?id=2209 http://www.oig.dot.gov/item.jsp?id=2086 On Jul 27, 2007, we issued our baseline report resulting from our initial monitoring of the Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project. The objectives of the monitoring were to (1) assess the status of the project, including costs, funding, and schedule and (2) identify any potential risks that may adversely affect its completion. The report identified several potential risk areas where the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) needs to provide vigilant oversight.We made recommendations for additional FTA reviews regarding the sufficiency of local funding sources, the contractual and associated arrangements that deal with the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Administration, and the Washington Metropolitan Airports Administrations project management plan. We also recommended that FTA consider reevaluating the transportation user benefits for the Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project in accordance with current FTA policy and use the updated figure to make any decisions regarding federal funding for the project. Finally, we recommended that the DOT Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act Credit Council conduct an independent rigorous review of the projects loan application, taking into account all of the unusual risks associated with the project, and that FTA coordinate closely with the DOT Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act Credit Council to share information. The FTA has agreed with the information contained in our report and has committed to respond to our specific recommendations within next 30 days. Fri, 27 Jul 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://www.oig.dot.gov/item.jsp?id=2086