Specialized transportation is vital to helping people with mobility limitations live as independently as possible. Authorization of the next surface transportation law provides an opportunity to improve specialized transportation services, particularly those funded by the Federal Transit Administration.

This report recommends that policymakers take steps to strengthen coordinated planning, increase support for mobility management, and improve data collection and reporting on these services.

Policy options include: increasing overall funding for public transportation, especially specialized transportation; strengthening coordinated planning; continuing to support mobility management; collecting and analyzing smarter data to strengthen programs; expanding program flexibility; and studying the impact of consolidating the Federal Transit Administration’s three specialized transportation programs.