Elected-in-charge: Jo Ann Hardesty
Bureau or Office Director: Chris Warner
We are tracking four reports and 21 recommendations
Report topics include regulation of transportation network companies (such as Uber and Lyft), consideration of neighborhood impacts when planning for transportation projects, implementation of accountability commitments for projects funded by the City gas tax and heavy vehicle tax, and the partnership with the Environmental Services Bureau to maintain sewer infrastructure.
Transportation had nine recommendations implemented, six in process, two not implemented, and four which were pending because it is too early for follow-up.
Highlight from Last Year
No activity in 2021.
To Do
We recommended using the results from project evaluations to inform the City's future transportation plans and priorities. The City’s Transportation System Plan guides overall investment priorities. Projects included in the plan are scored against criteria, such as climate impact, economic benefits, equity, and neighborhood access. The Bureau plans to update the scoring methodology in the next Transportation System Plan to include the measures and findings resulting from the project evaluation and community stabilization work described above.
Transportation Network Companies and Taxicabs: Transportation Bureau needs to monitor service, not just safety
Report published October 12, 2016 | Follow-up report | Contact Minh Dan Vuong
Transportation network companies, such as Uber and Lyft, have operated in Portland since 2015. In 2016, we audited how the Portland Bureau of Transportation monitored these companies and taxicabs. In our audit, we found the Transportation Bureau had made progress towards some City Council goals, such as competition and public safety, but other goals, especially for service, could not be measured because of data collection and reliability issues. We made recommendations for the Transportation Bureau to monitor service levels and make other improvements. In the two years since our audit, the Transportation Bureau has made some progress in implementing our eight audit recommendations. The auditor’s office considers three to be resolved, as of February 2019. Substantial work remains in analyzing data for long wait times or disparities in wheelchair accessible service. We will follow up again in one year to check if the remaining recommendations are implemented.
On this audit there were five recommendations implemented and three in process.
Street Improvement Projects: Bureau of Transportation has an inclusive planning process, but should improve assessment of neighborhood impact
Report published March 31, 2019| Follow-up report | Contact KC Jones
The Portland Bureau of Transportation designs and constructs projects to improve streets for pedestrians, bicycles, and vehicles. We audited two projects in 2018 to assess the Bureau’s planning and evaluation process. We found the Bureau met expectations for the planning phase, but its evaluation of project effectiveness needed improvement. The Transportation Bureau had made progress with project evaluation when we checked the status of the recommendations one year after the audit. Progress continued in 2020 with the completion of a project checklist to ensure project goals are met and development of a performance management framework, but work is ongoing.
On this audit there were no recommendations implemented and two in process.
Fixing Our Streets: Some accountability commitments not fulfilled
Report published May 29, 2019 | Follow-up report | Contact: Jenny Scott
Voters approved a tax in 2016 to fund street repair and safety projects. The City promised to spend 56 percent of revenues raised by the tax on repair projects and 44 percent on safety projects. Our 2019 audit found the Transportation Bureau was not accurately tracking and accounting for costs by those categories. Projects that had spending for both repair and safety improvements were not accounted for separately, making it impossible for the City to assure the public it kept its promise to voters. The Bureau still has not changed the way it tracks and accounts for projects to maintain the spending split as promised to voters. It also has not yet shared information with the public about spending compared to its commitment.
On this audit there were four recommendations implemented, one in process, and two not implemented.
Sewer Maintenance: Renewed attention to partnership needed to better serve ratepayers
Report published September 14, 2021 | Contact: Bob MacKay
Wastewater goes through pipes owned by the Bureau of Environmental Services but the bureau pays another - the Bureau of Transportation - to maintain these pipes. This longstanding agreement has had mixed results. We make recommendations for both bureaus in our audit report.
This is a new audit with four recommendations pending follow-up.
Not Implemented Recommendation Details
We recommended that the Bureau clarify how it would account for street repair and safety elements in Fixing Our Streets projects so the oversight committee could help ensure the promised spending split was maintained. Bureau managers said they told the oversight committee that the commitment to split revenue between street repair and safety projects was not realistic. (Fixing Our Streets: Some accountability commitments not fulfilled)
We recommended that the Bureau track and account for Fixing Our Streets spending to ensure that the funding split was maintained. Many projects included both street repair and safety elements. Managers said it was difficult to track the split because project funding may come from various sources. The Bureau’s approach has not changed since our original audit. Voters approved a second iteration of Fixing Our Streets in 2020. In that measure, the City committed to spending set dollar amounts on different categories of projects, including, paving; potholes, gravel streets, and base repair; sidewalks; and basic safety improvements. The draft dashboard the Bureau prepared to track project spending does not break out paving and safety elements included in individual projects. As a result, the Bureau will likely encounter the same problems it had validating the commitment to voters from the first iteration of Fixing Our Streets. (Fixing Our Streets: Some accountability commitments not fulfilled)
In Process Recommendation Details
We recommended educating transportation network and taxicabs companies about the data required and taking enforcement action against companies that continue to fail to provide it. Uber and Lyft have not reported all data to the City as required by City Code since 2017; companies were not breaking out rides canceled by the company or driver versus canceled by the customer. When companies or drivers cancel rides in a pattern, this could lead to disparate service. The Bureau reached out to Uber and Lyft in February 2020 to get all required data. Smaller taxicab companies still did not have the systems to report on unfulfilled rides and wait times. The Bureau contracted to provide small business development services for these companies. The Bureau has opted not to pursue enforcement against small companies. (Transportation Network Companies and Taxicabs: Transportation Bureau needs to monitor service, not just safety)
We recommended analyzing ride share and taxicab data regularly for service levels and disparities. The Bureau is using a new database to collect ride data and says its data analysis shows that all areas of the city are served and wait time averages are low. The Bureau continues to review data for wheelchair-accessible rides internally. No in-depth analysis of service disparities has been done since 2015 and concerns about long wait times for wheelchair accessible service persist. (Transportation Network Companies and Taxicabs: Transportation Bureau needs to monitor service, not just safety)
We recommended ensuring that rideshare and taxicab companies' self-reported data is accurate and complete. Some taxicab companies still reported incomplete data to the City. The Bureau is providing technical assistance to improve data collection and said smaller companies are making progress. (Transportation Network Companies and Taxicabs: Transportation Bureau needs to monitor service, not just safety)
We recommended developing and funding a consistent evaluation process that includes livability and neighborhood impact assessment. Transportation completed a Project Development Checklist for capital projects to provide consistent steps for ensuring goals are met through each stage of a project. The checklist includes standard transportation measures and qualitative measures of neighborhood impact. Transportation is also developing a Performance Management Framework to guide new measure development and provide a consistent approach to annual project evaluation, performance data gathering, and data analysis. The framework outlines a number of areas to measure, including economic and livability indicators. When this framework is finalized and applied, we will consider this recommendation implemented. Transportation’s plan to develop a methodology for anticipating and evaluating racial equity and displacement impacts of transportation projects stalled because of COVID-19 restrictions on hiring. Staff continue to work on defining thresholds for when the City should include community stabilization and anti-displacement strategies in transportation project delivery. (Street Improvement Projects: Bureau of Transportation has an inclusive planning process, but should improve assessment of neighborhood impact)
We recommended using the results from project evaluations to inform the City's future transportation plans and priorities. The City’s Transportation System Plan guides overall investment priorities. Projects included in the plan are scored against criteria, such as climate impact, economic benefits, equity, and neighborhood access. The Bureau plans to update the scoring methodology in the next Transportation System Plan to include the measures and findings resulting from the project evaluation and community stabilization work described above. Work on that plan is scheduled for Fiscal Year 2021-22. In the interim, Transportation continues to work on project scoring methodologies and incorporate them into ongoing funding decisions, including the allocation of Transportation System Development Charge funds, the application of regional infrastructure grants, and the development of the second Fixing Our Streets project list. (Street Improvement Projects: Bureau of Transportation has an inclusive planning process, but should improve assessment of neighborhood impact)
We recommended the Bureau track and publicly report on Fixing Our Streets projects as they related to commitments made to the public. The Bureau has yet to share information in annual reports or on its website about how project spending compares to its commitment to spend 56 percent on street repair and 44 percent on safety projects. Bureau managers said they plan to report on spending and explain why maintaining the split was difficult in an addendum to the 2021 Annual Report, which they anticipate releasing in early 2022. (Fixing Our Streets: Some accountability commitments not fulfilled)
Implemented Recommendation Details
We recommended making Fixing Our Streets ballot item commitments clear, realistic, measurable, achievable and time-bound. The City asked voters to renew the local gas tax to fund a second iteration of the Fixing our Streets program in May 2020. In the ballot summary, the Bureau committed to spend certain dollar amounts on different project categories over the four year life of the tax, as opposed to the percentage split they promised voters in 2016 that proved unrealistic and difficult to measure. The Bureau assigned a senior project manager to oversee the program and individual project managers are assigned to all projects scheduled for the first two years. The Bureau said it plans to publish detailed project schedules after development is complete and anticipates this will make project schedules more reliable. (Fixing Our Streets: Some accountability commitments not fulfilled)
Pending Recommendation Details
We recommended the Bureau develop and implement alternatives to use sewer maintenance staffing and vehicles to their full budgeted potential. (Sewer Maintenance: Renewed attention to partnership needed to better serve ratepayers)
We recommended that the Bureau remove expenses included in its indirect costs that could be considered direct administrative costs for a specific program or service to ensure ratepayer funds are used only on services related to and necessary for sewer maintenance. (Sewer Maintenance: Renewed attention to partnership needed to better serve ratepayers)
We recommended that the Bureau properly document materials taken by crews; increase inventory safeguards for sewer lining materials; and enforce existing procedures. (Sewer Maintenance: Renewed attention to partnership needed to better serve ratepayers)
We recommended that the Bureau re-evaluate the pros and cons of the agreement for sewer maintenance. (Sewer Maintenance: Renewed attention to partnership needed to better serve ratepayers)
Data Notes
At the end of every audit report, we issue a series of recommendations intended to make programs work even better. This report includes the status of Bureau recommendations since 2018, which was the beginning of our new follow-up process. We prepared it with a few audiences in mind:
- City Council can use it to identify bureaus that may need additional resources or support in order to implement recommendations.
- Bureau directors can use it to assess bureau performance and to determine if any changes in policy or procedure are necessary.
- Bureau management and staff can use it to track recommendation status across audits to develop work plans and priorities.
- General public can use it to monitor the status of recommendations related to topics of interest and to compare performance across bureaus.
This report includes recommendation status as of December 31, 2021.
Translated reports
Reports from this year and most of 2021 are available in four languages: Spanish, Vietnamese, Chinese, and Russian. We are translating new reports as they’re released, but older reports may not be available in a language other than English. If you would like to request a translated version of a report, please contact Leslie Chaires.
Links
Transportation Network Companies and Taxicabs: Transportation Bureau needs to monitor service, not just safety
Street Improvement Projects: Bureau of Transportation has an inclusive planning process, but should improve assessment of neighborhood impact
Fixing Our Streets: Some accountability commitments not fulfilled
Report Link https://www.portlandoregon.gov/auditservices/article/733093
Follow-up Link https://www.portland.gov/year2FixingOurStreets
Sewer Maintenance: Renewed attention to partnership needed to better serve ratepayers