Employee Compensation Guidelines for Transit Providers in Rural and Small Urban Areas (2008)

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87 A P P E N D I X A Transit Agency Survey and Survey Responses

88 Employee Compensation Guidelines for Transit Providers in Rural and Small Urban Areas TRANSIT AGENCIES! We need your help! KFH Group, the research team for the Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP*) Project F-12, is preparing Employee Compensation Guidelines to help providers of transit in rural and small urban areas make employee compensation decisions. The project also will provide transit managers with methods that can be used to attract and retain employees. Please help us develop the Employee Compensation Guidelines by completing a survey on compensation at your agency or organization. Can you take a few minutes to complete the survey by the close of business Friday October 20, 2006? You have three options for completing the survey: 1. You can complete the paper copy (enclosed) and mail it back to us at: KFH Group 4920 Elm Street Suite 350 Bethesda, MD 20814 2. You can complete the paper copy and fax it back to us at (301) 951-0026. 3. You can complete the survey on-line. KFH Group is using a third party survey application, Survey Monkey, for this surveying effort. The link to the survey is http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=871182645932 (copy into your browser to follow the link). We estimate that it will take you about 15-20 minutes to complete the survey. You may need to look up specific wage and benefit information by job category for your employees. Please note that if you are completing the web-based survey on Survey Monkey you may stop the survey at any point and come back to finish it; your answers will be saved automatically. To come back to the survey, simply follow the link above. ALL DATA WILL BE KEPT CONFIDENTIAL and will only be used to develop industry- wide compensation comparisons. The Employee Compensation Guidelines should be a valuable tool for small urban and rural transit managers, their boards, and local elected officials. The report will be free and distributed through TCRP. If you have any questions regarding the survey itself or the project, please call Sue Knapp or Elisabeth Fetting of the KFH Group at (301)951-8660 or email sknapp@kfhgroup.com or efetting@kfhgroup.com . Thank you for your participation! * TCRP is an applied research program of the Transportation Research Board (TRB), intended to develop near-term practical solutions to problems facing transit agencies. TRB serves as an independent adviser to the federal government and others on scientific and technical questions of national importance and is administered by the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine.

Transit Agency Survey and Survey Responses 89 PART I - CONTACT INFORMATION Name of Organization: Doing Business As (DBA) Name or Acronym: Street Address: City: State: Zip Code: Contact Person: Email: Phone: Fax: Person Completing this Survey: Phone: 1. Is your organization/agency responsible for the management and/or operation of public transit services? Yes No

90 Employee Compensation Guidelines for Transit Providers in Rural and Small Urban Areas PART II - SERVICE AREA CHARACTERISTICS 2. Which term best describes the public transit service area. single municipal service area multi-town service area single county service area multi-county service area Indian tribal reservation service area Other: (Please specify) ___________________________________________________ 3. Please identify the city(ies)/town(s)/village(s) or county(ies) that are included in your primary public transit service area. ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________

Transit Agency Survey and Survey Responses 91 PART II - SERVICE AREA CHARACTERISTIC S (continued) 4. Is there an urbanized area wi thin y our primary service area? No Yes If yes, what is the name of the urbanized area? __________________________________________________________ 5 – 10 miles 11 – 20 miles 21 – 30 miles 31 – 40 miles 41 – 50 miles 51 – 100 miles > 100 miles 5. Please estimate the unemploy ment rate in y our service area. (i.e. 1% , 2% , 3% , etc.) If No, estimate how close is the nearest urbanized area to where the majorit y of y our employ ees are based (in miles)

92 Employee Compensation Guidelines for Transit Providers in Rural and Small Urban Areas PART III - TRANSIT SERVICE CHARACTERISTICS 6. What type of public transit services are provided by your agency or organization? A description of each service can be found by clicking on each of the service types. (Check all that apply) Fixed-route Deviated fixed-route Paratransit/Dial-a-Ride Subscription Other (please specify) _________________________________________________ 7. Ho w man y revenue passenger service vehicles are in y our organization/agenc y’ s fleet? ______________________________ 8. Of these vehicles, how many require the driver to hold a commercial drivers license (CDL)? _________________________ 9. How many one-way transit passenger trips were provided by your organization/agency in the most recent fiscal year ?________________

Transit Agency Survey and Survey Responses 93 10. What was you agency/organization's annual operating budget for public transportation in the most recent fiscal year? <$50,000 $50,001 - $100,000 $100,001 - $250,000 $250,001 - $500,000 $500,001 - $750,000 $750,001 - $1,000,000 $1,000,001 - $1,250,000 $1,250,001 - $1,500,000 >$1,500,000 11. Which Federal grant funding does your organization or agency receive? (Check all that apply) Section 5311 (rural public program) Section 5307 (small urban program) Section 5416 (Job Access and Reverse Commute - JARC) Section 5310 (elderly and disabled capital program) Other (please specify) ____________________________________________________________

94 Employee Compensation Guidelines for Transit Providers in Rural and Small Urban Areas PART VI - FUNDING CHARACTERISTICS (continued) 12. What local funding sources do y ou use to support public transportation? (Check all that apply) Local general funds Specific local source - Sales Tax Specific local source - Property Ta x Specific local source - Employer Tax Specific local source - Parking or Other Vehicle Fee Contract revenue - Public or Non-profit Agenc y Contract revenue - Private Agency Other (please specify) _________________________________________________________

Transit Agency Survey and Survey Responses 95 PART V - ORGANIZATION/AGENCY CHARACTERISTICS 13. Which of the following best describes your organization/agency? Transit Authority Department of County government Department of City government Private nonprofit agency - transportation only Private nonprofit agency - multi-purpose Private, for-profit transportation provider Other (please specify) ________________________________________________________ 14. What term best describes the method of public transit service delivery utilized by your organization/agency? Direct operation ONLY - Our organization manages & operates all public transit services Contract operation ONLY - Our organization contracts with another agency/company to operate all public transit services Combination - We use a combination of direct operation & contracted services Brokerage - We arrange for transportation with a network of service providers

96 Employee Compensation Guidelines for Transit Providers in Rural and Small Urban Areas PART VI - STAFF CHARACTERISTICS 15. How many people are employ ed by the public transit sy stem ? # Full-time (35 hours a week or more) __________________________ # Part-time (34 hours a week or less) __________________________ # Volunteers __________________________ 16. What is the employee turnover rate at the public transit system (the number of staff who left during the year divided by the average monthly employment for the year)? 17. Are an y of the employ ees of y our transit sy stem members of a union? No Yes If Yes, which categories of employees are covered, and by what union?

Transit Agency Survey and Survey Responses 97 PART VII - JOB CATEGORIES, WAGES, AND BENEFITS (continued) # Full-Time Director of Transit ________________ Administrative Assistant ________________ Transportation Planner ________________ Bookkeeper/Finance Clerk ________________ Marketing Specialist ________________ Computer Operations Analyst ________________ Safety & Training Manager ________________ Rideshare Coordinator ________________ Trainer ________________ Administrative Support/Clerk ________________ Operations Supervisor ________________ Street Supervisor ________________ Scheduler/Call Taker ________________ Dispatcher ________________ Maintenance Manager ________________ Maintenance Clerk ________________ Mechanic ________________ Mechanic Assistant ________________ Utility Worker ________________ Bus Driver - CDL ________________ Bus Driver - Non-CDL ________________ Other ________________ # Part-Time ________________ ________________ ________________ ________________ ________________ ________________ ________________ ________________ ________________ ________________ ________________ ________________ ________________ ________________ ________________ ________________ ________________ ________________ ________________ ________________ ________________ ________________ 18a. Please use the table below to tell us about your transit staff. Complete the table using the job categories that most closely describe those within your organization/agency. Your organization will NOT have staff in all jobs listed below. In cases where an individual has multiple functions, please classify that individual under the job title that best describes his/her predominant area of responsibility. Please classify each staff person only ONCE. NUMBER OF POSITIONS Please indicate the number of positions for each job.

98 Employee Compensation Guidelines for Transit Providers in Rural and Small Urban Areas PART VII - JOB CATEGORIES, WAGES, AND BENEFITS Low Salary Director of Transit ________________ Administrative Assistant ________________ Transportation Planner ________________ Bookkeeper/Finance Clerk ________________ Marketing Specialist ________________ Computer Operations Analyst ________________ Safety & Training Manager ________________ Rideshare Coordinator ________________ Trainer ________________ Administrative Support/Clerk ________________ Operations Supervisor ________________ Street Supervisor ________________ Scheduler/Call Taker ________________ Dispatcher ________________ Maintenance Manager ________________ Maintenance Clerk ________________ Mechanic ________________ Mechanic Assistant ________________ Utility Worker ________________ Bus Driver - CDL ________________ Bus Driver - Non-CDL ________________ Other ________________ High Salary ________________ ________________ ________________ ________________ ________________ ________________ ________________ ________________ ________________ ________________ ________________ ________________ ________________ ________________ ________________ ________________ ________________ ________________ ________________ ________________ ________________ ________________ 18b. Please use the table below to tell us about your transit staff wages. Complete the table using the job categories that most closely describe those within your organization/agency. Your organization will NOT have staff in all jobs listed below. In cases where an individual has multiple functions, please classify that individual under the job title that best describes his/her predominant area of responsibility. Please classify each staff person only ONCE. SALARY RANGE Please indicate the hourly wage rate or annual salary range.

Transit Agency Survey and Survey Responses 99 PART VII - JOB CATEGORIES, WAGES, AND BENEFITS (continued) 19. Do you provide overtime pay for your employees? No Yes If Yes, at what rate? Straight time Time and half Double time Please estimate the percentage of overtime wages to total wages for your agency or organization? ___________________________________________________________________ 20. Do you consider the wages paid to your employees to be? Above the local labor market average About average for the local labor market Below the local labor market average

100 Employee Compensation Guidelines for Transit Providers in Rural and Small Urban Areas PART VII - JOB CATEGORIES, WAGES, AND BENEFITS (continued) 21. Please tell us about the benefits your organization or agency provides for employees (in addition to the legally-required benefits such as FICA). (Check all that apply) Health Insurance - employee Health Insurance - family members Disability Insurance Life Insurance Retirement Plan Vacation Sick Leave Compensatory Time for Overtime Hours Educational Opportunities Wellness Program Please indicate which particular benefits your organization/agency contributes to - on behalf of your employees. (Check all that apply) Health Insurance - employee Health Insurance - family members Disability Insurance Life Insurance Retirement Plan None 22. Are these benefits available for? All employees Full-time employees only Part-time employees - Minimum number of hours required to work ________________________________

Transit Agency Survey and Survey Responses 101 PART VII - JOB CATEGORIES, WAGES, AND BENEFITS (continued) 23. Do you consider the benefits provided for your employees to be? Above those found in the area About the same as those found in the area Below those found in the area

102 Employee Compensation Guidelines for Transit Providers in Rural and Small Urban Areas PART VIII - EMPLOYEE RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION STRATEGIES 24. Does y our organization/agency currently have a shortage of staff? No Yes 25. Which methods does y our organization/agenc y use to recruit potential employ ees? (Check all that apply, and describe additional methods as needed.) Newspaper Advertisement s Internet Advertisement s Employee/Personal Referrals Advertisements on the Vehicles Job Fairs Newsletter Advertisement s Other: __________________________________________ If yes, which positions have shortages? ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ If yes, why? ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________

Transit Agency Survey and Survey Responses 103 PART VIII - EMPLOYEE RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION STRATEGIES (continued) 26. What strategies does y our agency use to retain employ ees? (Check all that apply, and describe additional strategies as needed ) Provide training opportunities Provide retirement benefit s Provide health insurance Offer a working environment that promotes high morale among employees Provide employee recognition programs Provide bonus pay Conduct employee reviews Provide periodic wage increases Other: __________________________________________________________

104 Employee Compensation Guidelines for Transit Providers in Rural and Small Urban Areas 27. Please tell us about any methods or strategies y ou consider to be particularly effective and/or innovative in either attracting or retaining employees. ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ 28. Would y ou be w illing to discuss y our innovative methods further wi th the research team ? No Yes PART VIII - EMPLOYEE RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION STRATEGIES (continued)

Transit Agency Survey and Survey Responses 105 Number of Respondents: 360 Number of States : 45 SERVICE AREA CHARACTERISTI C S Is your organization/agency responsible for the management and/or operation of public transit services? Yes 360 98% No 7 Total 36 7 Which term best describes the public transit service area? single municipal service area 7 6 1% multi-town service ar e a 49 14% single county service area 134 37% multi-county service are a 98 27% Indian tribal reservation service area 3 Total 360 100% Is there an urbanized area within your primary service area ? No 179 50% Ye s 181 50% Total 360 100% If No, estimate how close is the nearest urbanized area to where the majority of your employees are based? 5 - 10 miles 8 5% 11 - 20 miles 1 2 21 - 30 miles 2 7 18% 31 - 40 miles 2 4 16% 41 - 50 miles 1 8 12% 51 - 100 miles 43 28% > 100 miles 20 13% Total 152 Unemployment Rate in Service Ar e a 5.4% Average 1% - 60% Range 5.2% Stand. Dev. BLS R eg i o n New Englan d 24 7% Middle Atlantic 14 4% East North Central 6 4 8% West North Central 72 20% South Atlantic 58 16% East South Central 1 0 2% 2 1% 8% 1 3% West South Central 4 9 14% Mountain 45 13% Pacific 22 6% Total 358 APTA Regi o n New Englan d 24 7% Middle Atlantic 20 6% Great Lakes 64 18% North Central 72 20% Southeast 86 24% Southwest/Mountain 70 20% Pacific 20 6% Non-continental 2 Total 358 ORGANIZATIONAL/AGENCY CHARACTERISTI C S Which of the following best describes your organization/agency? Transit Authority 50 15% Department of County governmen t 55 17% Department of City governme n t 67 20% Private nonprofit agency - transportation only P 4 6 14% Private nonprofit agency - multi-purpose 8 2 25% rivate- for-profit transportation provider 4 Other (please specify) 2 6 Total 330 1% 1% 8% Table A-1. Summary of survey responses. (continued on next page)

106 Employee Compensation Guidelines for Transit Providers in Rural and Small Urban Areas Number of Respondents: 360 Number of States : 45 What term best describes the method of public transit service delivery utilized by your organization/agency ? Direct operation ONLY 245 72% Contract operation ONLY 25 7% Combination 65 19% Brokerage 6 2% Total 341 TRANSIT SERVICE CHARACTERISTI C S What type(s) of public transit services are provided by your agency or organization? fixed-route/deviated fixed-route only 5 1 15% p aratransit/dial-a-ride/subscription only 131 38% fixed-route/paratransit/subscription mix 163 47% Total 345 Number of Revenue Passenger Service Vehicles (321 respondents) 24 Average 1 - 550 vehicles Range Range 38 Stand. Dev. Percent of Vehicles Requiring a CDL (321 respondents) 55% Average 0 -100% Range 44% Stand. Dev. Number of Annual One-Way Transit Passenger Trips (269 respondents) 264,600 Average 10 trips - 8.7M trips 719,147 Stand. Dev. FUNDING CHARACTERISTI C S What was your agency/organization's annual operating budget for public transportation in the most recent fiscal year? Less than $50,000 24 7% $50,001 - $100,000 28 9% $100,001-$250,000 34 11% $250,001-$500,000 54 17% $500,001-$750,000 30 9% $750,001-$1,000,000 26 8% $1,000,000-$1,250,000 23 7% $1,250,001-$1,500,000 15 5% Greater than $$1,500,000 88 27% Total 322 Which Federal grant funding does your organization or agency receive? Section 5311 (rural public program) Only 235 73% Section 5307 (small urban program) Onl y 43 13% Section 5307 and S.5311 28 9% Section 5316 (Job Access & Reverse Commute-JARC) Onl y 3 Section 5310 (elderly and disabled capital ) Only 1 1 Other 3 Total 323 What local funding sources do you use to support public transportation? Local general funds 211 69% Specific local source - Sales Tax 2 7 Specific local source - Property Tax 32 10% Specific local source - Employer Tax 1 1% 3% 1% 9% 0% Specific local source - Parking or Other Vehicle Fee 5 2% Contract revenue - Public or Non-profit Agenc y 162 53% Contract revenue - Private Agenc y 55 18% Other (please specify) 9 9 32% Total 308 STAFF CHARACTERISTICS Number of systems with : Full-Time Employees 280 92% Part-Time Employees 277 91% Volunteers 46 15% Total 303 Table A-1. (Continued).

Transit Agency Survey and Survey Responses 107 Number of Respondents: 360 Number of States: 45 How many people are employed by the transit system? (307 respondents - systems that have employees) Full-Time Employees 6,247 Total 22.3 Average 1-300 Range Part-Time Employees 3,199 Total 11.6 Average 1-200 Range Volunteers 579 Total 12.6 Average 1-152 Range Percentage of Staff that are Part-Time (301 respondents) 44% Average 0-100% Range 30% Stand. Dev. Number of Systems that Use Volunteers Yes - in Conjunction with Paid Staff 46 15% No 256 85% Total 302 Number of Employees 0 Employees 57 16% 1-9 Employees 69 19% 10-24 Employees 106 29% 25-49 Employees 68 19% 50-99 Employees 44 12% 100+ Employees 16 4% Total 360 What is the employee turnover rate (the number of staff who left during the 11% Average year divided by the average monthly employment for the year)? 0% - 65% Range (283 respondents) 13% Stand. Dev. Does your organization/agency currently have a shortage of staff? No 163 57% Yes 121 43% Total 284 If shortages, which positions? (121 repondents) Drivers Only 101 83% Drivers plus Other Staff 13 11% Other Staff Only 7 6% Total 121 If shortages, why? (107 respondents) Shortage of qualified applicants 42 39% Low pay 36 34% Lack of benefits 11 10% Funding 18 17% Other 16 15% Total 107 Are any of the employees of your transit system members of a union? No 246 80% Yes 60 20% Total 306 COMPENSATION - WAGES Do you provide overtime pay for your employees? No 52 18% Yes 235 82% Total 287 If Yes at what rate? Straight time 3 1% Time and half 242 99% Double time 0 0% Total 245 Table A-1. (Continued). (continued on next page)

108 Employee Compensation Guidelines for Transit Providers in Rural and Small Urban Areas Estimate the percentage of overtime wages to total wages. 6.2% Average (222 respondents) 1% - 80% Range Do you consider the wages paid to your employees to be? Above the local labor market average 38 14% About average for the local labor market 154 54% Below the local labor market average 92 32% Total 284 COMPENSATION - BENEFITS Please tell us about the benefits your organization or agency offers for employees Health Insurance - employee 247 88% Health Insurance - family members 176 63% Disability Insurance 147 52% Life Insurance 204 73% Retirement Plan 219 78% Vacation 266 95% Sick Leave 250 89% Compensatory Time for Overtime Hours 136 48% Educational Opportunities 115 41% Wellness Program 75 27% Total 281 Please indicate which benefits your organization/agency contributes to on behalf of your employees. Health Insurance - employee 219 79% Health Insurance - family members 107 39% Disability Insurance 100 36% Life Insurance 160 58% Retirement Plan 197 71% None 27 10% Total 277 100% Are these benefits available for? All employees 51 18% Full-time employees only 181 65% Part-time employees 46 17% Total 278 Do you consider the benefits provided for your employees to be? Above those found in the area 123 44% About the same as those found in the area 112 40% Below those found in the area 45 16% Total 280 Number of Respondents: 360 Number of States : 45 Table A-1. (Continued).