A Methodology for Performance Measurement and Peer Comparison in the Public Transportation Industry

Abstract

This research developed and tested a methodology for performance measurement and peer comparison for (a) all fixed-route components of a public transit system, (b) the motor- bus mode specifically, and (c) major rail modes specifically (i.e., light rail, heavy rail, and commuter rail). This report complements TCRP Report 88: A Guidebook for Developing a Transit Performance-Measurement System, which describes how to implement and use per- formance measurement on an ongoing basis at a transit agency. This report describes eight steps for conducting a benchmarking effort. The steps are: 1. Understand the context of the benchmarking exercise, 2. Identify standardized performance measures appropriate to the performance question being asked, 3. Establish a peer group, 4. Compare performance within the peer group, 5. Contact best-practices peers in areas where one’s performance can be improved, 6. Develop a strategy for improving performance based on what one learns from the best- practices peers, 7. Implement the strategy, and 8. Monitor changes in performance over time, repeating the process if the desired results are not achieved within the desired time frame. The performance-measurement and peer-comparison methodology described in this report incorporates a variety of nationally available, standardized factors into the peer-selection process and describes ways for also incorporating policy objectives and other factors into the process. The methodology has been incorporated into a freely available, online software tool (the Florida Transit Information System, FTIS) that provides access to the full National Tran- sit Database (NTD), allowing users to quickly identify a group of potential peer transit agen- cies,cies, retrieve standardized performance data for them, and perform a variety of comparisons. During the research the methodology was tested by transit agencies, which were typically able to learn how to use the software, create a peer group, and perform an analysis with 16 person- hours of effort or less. This project’s testing efforts found that, for the most part, the NTD data used in analyses were reliable and that what errors did exist were readily spotted.This report provides guidance on selecting performance measures appropriate to a particu- lar performance question but does not prescribe a particular set of measures. This approach requires some thoughtfulness on the part of transit agencies in selecting measures, but also pro- vides much-needed flexibility that allows the methodology to be applied to a wide variety of transit modes, transit agency sizes, and performance questions. The methodology was not designed as a means of ranking transit agencies to determine the “best” agencies overall on a national basis or the best at a particular aspect of service. Rather, this report’s approach is that peer-grouping and performance measurement should serve as a starting point for a transit agency to ask questions about performance, identify areas of possi- ble improvement, and contact top-performing peers. That course—a true benchmarking process—holds the greatest potential for producing long-term performance improvement. A full-color PDF version of this report is available on the TRB website (www.trb.org) by searching for “TCRP Report 141.”