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Service Planning & Standards

Unit 4: Service Planning & Network Design

Materials developed by K. Watkins, J. LaMondia and C. Brakewood

Outline

• Quality of service basics

• Service availability

• Comfort and convenience

• Defining quality transit service

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QUALITY OF SERVICE BASICS

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Transit service

Transit serves two populations• “Choice riders”• “Transit dependents riders”

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Performance Points of View

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Quality of Service

Availability Comfort and Convenience

Frequency Passenger LoadService Span ReliabilityAccess Travel Time

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SERVICE AVAILABILITY

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Service Availability

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• Frequency is the number of transit vehicles in a given period of time.

• Headway is the measurement of time between transit vehicles.

• Frequency generally divided into 2 categories: High Frequency Service: Headways less than 10 minutes Low Frequency Service: Headways greater than 10

minutes

Headway = 1 Frequency

Service Frequency

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• Frequency is important because it determines waiting times.

• Wait time for high frequency transit is, on average, half of the headway.

(That is if it’s reliable – more later)

Wait Time = Headway 2

Frequency & Wait Time

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Service Frequency

Mean Headway Passenger Perspective

Operator Perspective

≤ 5 min •No schedule needed•Bus bunching likely

•High-density (high-ridership) •Exclusive right-of-way highly desirable•Bunching can occur in mixed traffic•Possibly cannot add more frequency

> 5 – 10 min •No schedule needed•Bus bunching possible

•High-density or major activity center•Exclusive right-of-way desirable •Possible bunching•Possible to increase frequency

11 – 15 min •Need schedule•Max desired wait for missed bus

•Branded as “frequent service” •Higher-density or strong anchors•Longest possible to still be BRT

16 – 30 min •Need schedule•Adapt to schedule

•Typically 20- or 30-min headways•Moderate-density corridors•Typical commuter rail headway•Longest commuter bus headway

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Service Frequency

Average Headway

Passenger Perspective

Operator Perspective

31 - 59 •Non-clockface headways requirecheck schedules•Must adapt to the transit schedule

•Typically 40- or 45-min headways•Low-to-moderate density

60 min •Minimal service for basic travel needs•Must adapt to the transit schedule

•Maximum headway for fixed route bus •Low density with subsidy•Service coverage standard

> 60 min •Undesirable for urban transit service

•Should consider demand responsive

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Span is the length of time that transit service runs.

Spans can be all day or can have peaks.

Service Span

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Hours of Service

• Service at least hourly – Round (last trip – first trip + 1 hr)

• Hourly-or-worse service– Count the number of departures.

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Service Span

Hours of Service Passenger Perspective Operator Perspective

> 18 h •Full range of purposes•Replace riskier travel (drunk driving)

•“Night” or “owl”•Added driver pay•Security•Route differences

15 – 18 h •Broad range of purposes

•More than two drivers•Route differences

12 – 14 h •Work trips with flexibility

•Two drivers per vehicle

7 – 11 h •Midday trips•Limited flexibility

•One driver with gap or part-time help

4 – 6 h •Some AM & PM choice •Commuter bus / rail•Part-time drivers

< 4 h •Lifeline service•Passengers plan around service

•Intra-county•Rotate drivers

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Access

• Is transit service provided near one’s desired origins and destinations?

• Can one get to and from the necessary transit stops or stations?

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Walk Access

• Route density– Route miles per sq mile

• Geographic coverage– Percentage of service area served

• Transit market coverage– Transit-supportive (high density) area served

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Actual walking distance

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Impact of Street Network

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Impact of Street Network

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Impact of Street Network

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Bike and Drive Access

• Bike access– Up to 1.25 mi for local bus– Up to 2.5 mi for rapid transit

• Auto access– Up to 2.5 mi for park-n-ride lots

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COMFORT AND CONVENIENCE

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Passenger Load

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Passenger Load

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Space Available

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Reliability Measures

• On-time performance• Headway adherence• Excess wait time• Missed trips• Percent of scheduled time in operation• Distance between mechanical breakdowns

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WHAT IS “ON TIME”?

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Reliability Measures

• On-time performance– Scheduled service (headways > 10 minutes)– % on-time vehicles– By run, by route or for system– Definition of “on-time”

• Headway adherence

cvh = Standard deviation of headway deviationsMean scheduled headway

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Excess Wait Time

Where:tw = avg wait time (min)

h = avg scheduled headway (min)cvh = coefficient of variation of headways

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Long-headway Waiting Time

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On-time performance

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MARTA On-time (bus)

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MARTA On-time (rail)

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Travel Time

• Number of transit vehicles needed to operate route at a given headway – Preferential treatments measured by travel time

saved • Average speed allows peer routes or peer

agency comparison– ridership elasticity factors

• Travel time rate – 1 / avg speed– Preferential treatments

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Transit-Auto TT Ratio

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Passenger Safety & Security

• Accident rate (accidents per distance)• Passenger safety (injuries or fatalities)• Percent positive drug and alcohol tests• Number of traffic tickets issued to operators• Number of station overruns (manually operated

rail systems)• Number of fires• Number of crimes (crime rate)• Ratio of police officers to transit vehicles• Number of vehicles or stations with safety devices

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Customer Service

• Service Center Measurements– Number of call missed– Response time

• Compliment and complaint tracking• Passenger Satisfaction– Rider surveys

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Passenger Environment

• Cleanliness and appearance

• Customer information

• Equipment condition

• Operators or station agents

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DEFINING QUALITY TRANSIT SERVICE

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Quality of Service

Availability Comfort and Convenience

Frequency Passenger LoadService Span ReliabilityAccess Travel Time

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Elements of Good Transit Service

7 Demands of Useful Service

It takes me where I want

to go.

It takes me when I want

to go.

It is a good use of my

time.

It is a good use of my money.

It respects me. I can trust it.

It gives me freedom (to change my

plans).

Materials developed by K. Watkins, J. LaMondia and C. Brakewood

Exercise comparing TCQSM & Walker

Materials developed by K. Watkins, J. LaMondia and C. Brakewood

Elements of Good Transit Service

7 Demands of Useful ServiceIt takes

me where I want to

go.

It takes me when I

want to go.

It is a good use of my

time.

It is a good use of my money.

It respects

me.

I can trust it.

It gives me freedom

(to change my plans).

Materials developed by K. Watkins, J. LaMondia and C. Brakewood

Elements of Good Transit Service

7 Demands of Useful Service

How Transit Services Them

It takes me where I want to

go.

It takes me when I

want to go.

It is a good use of my

time.

It is a good use of my money.

It respects

me.

I can trust it.

It gives me freedom

(to change my plans).

Stops/ Stations

Connectivity

Frequency Span Speed or Delay Fares Civility Reliability

Simplicity /Presentation

Materials developed by K. Watkins, J. LaMondia and C. Brakewood

Elements of Good Transit Service

7 Demands of Useful Service

How Transit Services Them

It takes me where I want to

go.

It takes me when I

want to go.

It is a good use of my

time.

It is a good use of my money.

It respects

me.

I can trust it.

It gives me freedom

(to change my plans).

Stops/ Stations

Connectivity

Frequency Span Speed or Delay Fares Civility Reliability

Simplicity /Presentation

Travel Time

Access

Passenger Load

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STAGES OF SERVICE PLANNING

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Service Planning Steps

Crew scheduling

Vehicle scheduling

Timetabling

Frequency determination

Route design and stop layout

Network design

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Reference

The materials in this lecture were taken from:• Chapter 4 and 5 of the TCRP Report 165, “Transit Capacity and

Quality of Service Manual, 3rd edition”, 2013• TCRP Report 88, “A Guidebook for Developing a Transit

Performance-Measurement System”. Transportation Research Board, 2003.

• Walker, J. (2011). Human transit: How clearer thinking about public transit can enrich our communities and our lives. Island Press.

• Hickman, Mark, Fundamentals of Transportation wikibook, “Network Design & Frequency”, http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Fundamentals_of_Transportation/Network_Design_and_Frequency

• TCRP Report 113, “Using Archived AVL-APC Data to Improve Transit Performance and Management”. Transportation Research Board, 2006.