A STRUCTURED APPROACH TO MONITORING AND EVALUATING PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION SERVICES

Development of procedures for monitoring and evaluating public transit systems should begin with formulation of aggregate performance measures reflecting overall system benefits and costs. Disaggregate measures should then be developed to permit closer examination of factors influencing the aggregate measures. Standardized practices should be adopted to express benefits and costs in constant dollars, discounting future benefits and costs to present values. The lack of standardized performance data for different systems, along with the problems of accounting for special local demographic or geographic factors limits the potential for cross-system comparisons. In Minnesota greater insight was gained from time-series analysis of individual systems. Performance measures should be used with great caution. Transit systems will have to improve the quality and timeliness of their regular reporting procedures. While cost reduction has been the primary emphasis in current performance monitoring, there is need to look at expanding transit benefits through increased ridership or involving new providers. Performance monitoring is still in its infancy; refinements are necessary to achieve the common goal of improved resource management.

• Record URL:
  • https://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015021808608?urlappend=%3Bseq=29
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/oclc/7938948
• Corporate Authors:

  Eno Transportation Foundation

  P.O. Box 2055, Saugatuck Station
  Westport, CT  United States  06880-0055
• Authors:
  • Miller, G K
  • Kirby, R F
• Publication Date: 1984-1

Media Info

• Pagination: p. 23-46
• Serial:
  • Transportation Quarterly
  • Volume: 38
  • Issue Number: 1
  • Publisher: Eno Transportation Foundation
  • ISSN: 0278-9434

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Analysis; Benefit cost analysis; Costs; Data collection; Performance evaluations; Public transit; Subsidies
• Uncontrolled Terms: Cost analysis
• Geographic Terms: Minnesota
• Subject Areas: Administration and Management; Economics; Finance; Highways; Planning and Forecasting; Public Transportation; Society; I10: Economics and Administration;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00382296
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Apr 30 1984 12:00AM