The definition of "On Time" varies from transit system to transit system, making comparisons difficult. When compared using the same standards, a more accurate portrait of transit performance emerges.
A recent post on the TransitCenter website catches transit systems moving the goal posts when it comes to measuring on-time performance. Transit officials set their own performance standards, without referencing any national standard, and can change those standards when its expedient to do so.
"Baltimore’s MTA recently came under fire by the Baltimore Sun and advocates for doing just that last year, after it boasted of improving its on time performance following the 2017 redesign of the bus network in Baltimore," according to post.
To cut through the fog of self-serving arbitrariness, the team at TransitCenter chose one universal standard, "[using] publicly available open data to look at 2018 transit agency performance, and picked an (ambitious) standard used by SFMTA: 'On Time' definition of 1 minute early, 4 minutes late."
Once the standard is set to a universal scale, the on-time performance of most systems declines, but a few trends in quality performance also emerge. "The systems that rise to the top tend to be in less congested cities (no surprise there – congestion is the primary source of bus delays). The top three cities for reliability saw smaller ridership losses on their bus system from 2016-2017 than the national average," according to the article.
Read the full story: Your Bus Is On Time. What Does That Even Mean?
Suburban Detroit Achieves Long-Awaited Bus Service Expansion
Novi and Bloomfield Hills in Southeast Michigan will have transit service for the first time in 28 years.
The Bus Revolution Has Been Revised in Philadelphia
The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority went back to the drawing board with its Bus Revolution system redesign after an initial round of feedback completed earlier this year.
Popular L.A. Bus Line to Replace Schedule With ‘Headway-Based Operations’
Los Angeles’ 16 bus, which cuts across the city on Third Street through some of the city’s densest neighborhoods, will experiment with a new approach to service design.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Amtrak, CN end decades-long dispute with eight-year agreement
The new operating agreement establishes an updated framework for the companies to work together, including processes to resolve disputes.
Judges permit Denver to divert 77,000 acre feet from the Colorado River for reservoir expansion
Overuse and climate change have caused the Colorado River’s water levels to plummet.
NYC DOT wants faster, more permanent street upgrades
The city is examining ways to build more concrete infrastructure without getting entangled in 'decades-long' projects.
'Something we’ve never seen before:' rising utility rates could strain city finances nationwide
Data centers, climate change and other factors have caused utility rates in the United States to increase by 38% since 2020.
Trump to overrule local leaders, lease millions of acres of America’s Pacific Island territories’ seafloors to mining companies
International law says that the Indigenous people of America’s territories have a right to prior and informed consent regarding projects that impact their countries.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
KFH Group Inc.
Greater Baltimore Committee
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello