UC Irvine Institute of Transportation Studies

Discretionary grant programs have been popular with State legislatures as a mechanism for extending the benefits of transit programs to small cities and rural areas as well as stimulating innovations in urban areas. This article analyzes state discretionary grant transit programs in California and Minnesota using the criterion of effective administration. The purpose is to develop a framework for understanding administrative problems that result when state discretionary transit programs do not have adequate objectives. Without explicit objectives, selection, monitoring, evaluation, and overall management is weak. Project performance is reduced and scarce public funds are wasted. Recommendations include: that legislatures make explicit the mission and goals or discretionary programs; that administrative agencies define measurable objectives and administrative guidelines; and that local grant recipients be granted funds only after specific objectives and performance standards have been presented.