Cost Effectiveness of Life-Cycle Process in Buying Transit Vehicles Questionable

摘要

Transit vehicles traditionally have been purchased using the low bid process, but for fiscal year 1982 the Congress required that operating and maintenance costs as well as the purchase price (life-cycle costs) be evaluated before awarding vehicle procurement contracts. While the use of the life-cycle costing process was made optional in 1983, some transit systems continue to use it. GAO found that: the cost effectiveness of the life-cycle cost process for transit vehicles is unknown, and that transit systems generally lack the information, resources, and technical expertise needed to evaluate life-cycle costs effectively. Although the Urban Mass Transportation Administration has covered some aspects of the life-cycle cost process as part of its research program, it has not addressed the above problems. GAO is recommending that a systematic scheme of research projects be developed to determine if the life-cycle cost process is beneficial for transit procurements and to remove the obstacles barring the process' effectiveness.