MANAGERIAL RESOURCES AND PERSONNEL PRACTICES IN URBAN MASS TRANSPORTATION

The primary purpose of this project was to identify and evaluate policies, practices and other conditions relating to the supply of managerial personnel in the urban mass transit industry. The study, conducted during 1972-1973, sought to provide information concerning the following: (1) an inventory of management, technical, and supervisory personnel in the industry; (2) a current profile of management and technical personnel; (3) a summary of personnel practices and training methods now being used in the industry; (4) an assessment of manpower demand and supply in the industry by administrative levels; (5) a review of the roles of UMTA, universities and the industry in improving the training of personnel in the transit industry with respect to training methods, course contents, level of support for trainees and related matters. Questionnaires supplemented by personal interviews with transit property officials were used to obtain data. Ten Canadian and thirty-one U.S. transit properties were polled. The survey was designed to permit statistical inferences to be drawn for the industry as a whole. Accoring to the author, little formal organization and planning concerning the development and utilization of human managerial resources were found to exist within the U.S. urban transit industry. Furthermore, according to the author, urgent action is needed to prevent deterioration of the industry's management structure. Data are presented.