"The Washington Metropolitan AreaTransit Authority's (WMATA) publicrail transit and bus systems are vitalto the national capital region.However, the 35-year-old rail systemhas experienced safety and reliabilityproblems, including fatal accidents. A16-member board of directorsgoverns WMATA, setting policies andproviding oversight. Recent reportshave noted weaknesses in WMATA'sgovernance structure andrecommended changing it. GAOassessed WMATA's governance interms of the board's roles andresponsibilities, oversight, andstrategic planning. To do so, GAOcompiled leading practices fromprevious GAO work on public andprivate sector governance, non-GAOtransit governance studies, andstrategic planning standards; thencompared WMATA's approach tothose practices. GAO also spoke withsix transit agencies selected based onboard composition and ridership,among other things."