Summary: Recent legislation allows federal agencies to promote the use of public transportation by their employees through the use of discounted passes or other public transportation subsidies. This report assesses (1) the extent of federal agency and employee participation in state or local transit benefit programs, including the factors influencing participation, and the rates of pay of participating employees; (2) the costs of federal agency and employee participation in state or local programs and how this participation is being managed and implemented; and (3) the extent to which the legislation has successfully encouraged the use of public transportation. GAO concludes that it is to soon to know whether providing transit benefits results in greater use of public transportation among federal employees or, alternatively, whether the population of federal employees using public transportation will remain roughly the same. This impact will be a key consideration when Congress considers extending agencies' authority to offer transit benefits beyond 1993.
