National Academies Press: OpenBook
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2008. Employee Compensation Guidelines for Transit Providers in Rural and Small Urban Areas. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/14163.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2008. Employee Compensation Guidelines for Transit Providers in Rural and Small Urban Areas. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/14163.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2008. Employee Compensation Guidelines for Transit Providers in Rural and Small Urban Areas. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/14163.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2008. Employee Compensation Guidelines for Transit Providers in Rural and Small Urban Areas. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/14163.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2008. Employee Compensation Guidelines for Transit Providers in Rural and Small Urban Areas. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/14163.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2008. Employee Compensation Guidelines for Transit Providers in Rural and Small Urban Areas. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/14163.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2008. Employee Compensation Guidelines for Transit Providers in Rural and Small Urban Areas. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/14163.
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TRANSPORTAT ION RESEARCH BOARD WASHINGTON, D.C. 2008 www.TRB.org T R A N S I T C O O P E R A T I V E R E S E A R C H P R O G R A M TCRP REPORT 127 Research sponsored by the Federal Transit Administration in cooperation with the Transit Development Corporation Subject Areas Planning and Administration • Public Transit Employee Compensation Guidelines for Transit Providers in Rural and Small Urban Areas KFH Group, Inc. Bethesda, MD

TCRP REPORT 127 Project F-12 ISSN 1073-4872 ISBN: 978-0-309-11746-3 Library of Congress Control Number 2008906709 © 2008 Transportation Research Board COPYRIGHT PERMISSION Authors herein are responsible for the authenticity of their materials and for obtaining written permissions from publishers or persons who own the copyright to any previously published or copyrighted material used herein. Cooperative Research Programs (CRP) grants permission to reproduce material in this publication for classroom and not-for-profit purposes. Permission is given with the understanding that none of the material will be used to imply TRB, AASHTO, FAA, FHWA, FMCSA, FTA, or Transit Development Corporation endorsement of a particular product, method, or practice. It is expected that those reproducing the material in this document for educational and not-for-profit uses will give appropriate acknowledgment of the source of any reprinted or reproduced material. For other uses of the material, request permission from CRP. NOTICE The project that is the subject of this report was a part of the Transit Cooperative Research Program conducted by the Transportation Research Board with the approval of the Governing Board of the National Research Council. Such approval reflects the Governing Board’s judgment that the project concerned is appropriate with respect to both the purposes and resources of the National Research Council. The members of the technical advisory panel selected to monitor this project and to review this report were chosen for recognized scholarly competence and with due consideration for the balance of disciplines appropriate to the project. The opinions and conclusions expressed or implied are those of the research agency that performed the research, and while they have been accepted as appropriate by the technical panel, they are not necessarily those of the Transportation Research Board, the National Research Council, the Transit Development Corporation, or the Federal Transit Administration of the U.S. Department of Transportation. Each report is reviewed and accepted for publication by the technical panel according to procedures established and monitored by the Transportation Research Board Executive Committee and the Governing Board of the National Research Council. The Transportation Research Board of the National Academies, the National Research Council, the Transit Development Corporation, and the Federal Transit Administration (sponsor of the Transit Cooperative Research Program) do not endorse products or manufacturers. Trade or manufacturers’ names appear herein solely because they are considered essential to the clarity and completeness of the project reporting. TRANSIT COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAM The nation’s growth and the need to meet mobility, environmental, and energy objectives place demands on public transit systems. Current systems, some of which are old and in need of upgrading, must expand service area, increase service frequency, and improve efficiency to serve these demands. Research is necessary to solve operating problems, to adapt appropriate new technologies from other industries, and to intro- duce innovations into the transit industry. The Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) serves as one of the principal means by which the transit industry can develop innovative near-term solutions to meet demands placed on it. The need for TCRP was originally identified in TRB Special Report 213—Research for Public Transit: New Directions, published in 1987 and based on a study sponsored by the Urban Mass Transportation Administration—now the Federal Transit Administration (FTA). A report by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA), Transportation 2000, also recognized the need for local, problem- solving research. TCRP, modeled after the longstanding and success- ful National Cooperative Highway Research Program, undertakes research and other technical activities in response to the needs of tran- sit service providers. The scope of TCRP includes a variety of transit research fields including planning, service configuration, equipment, facilities, operations, human resources, maintenance, policy, and administrative practices. TCRP was established under FTA sponsorship in July 1992. Pro- posed by the U.S. Department of Transportation, TCRP was autho- rized as part of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA). On May 13, 1992, a memorandum agreement out- lining TCRP operating procedures was executed by the three cooper- ating organizations: FTA, the National Academies, acting through the Transportation Research Board (TRB); and the Transit Development Corporation, Inc. (TDC), a nonprofit educational and research orga- nization established by APTA. TDC is responsible for forming the independent governing board, designated as the TCRP Oversight and Project Selection (TOPS) Committee. Research problem statements for TCRP are solicited periodically but may be submitted to TRB by anyone at any time. It is the responsibility of the TOPS Committee to formulate the research program by identi- fying the highest priority projects. As part of the evaluation, the TOPS Committee defines funding levels and expected products. Once selected, each project is assigned to an expert panel, appointed by the Transportation Research Board. The panels prepare project state- ments (requests for proposals), select contractors, and provide techni- cal guidance and counsel throughout the life of the project. The process for developing research problem statements and selecting research agencies has been used by TRB in managing cooperative research pro- grams since 1962. As in other TRB activities, TCRP project panels serve voluntarily without compensation. Because research cannot have the desired impact if products fail to reach the intended audience, special emphasis is placed on dissemi- nating TCRP results to the intended end users of the research: tran- sit agencies, service providers, and suppliers. TRB provides a series of research reports, syntheses of transit practice, and other support- ing material developed by TCRP research. APTA will arrange for workshops, training aids, field visits, and other activities to ensure that results are implemented by urban and rural transit industry practitioners. The TCRP provides a forum where transit agencies can cooperatively address common operational problems. The TCRP results support and complement other ongoing transit research and training programs. Published reports of the TRANSIT COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAM are available from: Transportation Research Board Business Office 500 Fifth Street, NW Washington, DC 20001 and can be ordered through the Internet at http://www.national-academies.org/trb/bookstore Printed in the United States of America

CRP STAFF FOR TCRP REPORT 127 Christopher W. Jenks, Director, Cooperative Research Programs Crawford F. Jencks, Deputy Director, Cooperative Research Programs Dianne S. Schwager, Senior Program Officer Eileen P. Delaney, Director of Publications Hilary Freer, Senior Editor Natalie Barnes, Editor TCRP PROJECT F-12 PANEL Field of Human Resources Ann August, Santee Wateree Regional Transportation Authority, Sumter, SC (Chair) Tom Ashby, Coordinated Transportation Development, Centralia, IL Gary A. De Leo, Illinois DOT, Chicago, IL Pamela D. Evans, CARE-A-VAN Transportation, Hobbs, NM Lyn Hellegaard, Missoula Ravali Transportation Management Association, Missoula, MT Jill A. Hough, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND Amanda Jones, Centre Area Transportation Authority, State College, PA Ann Martinez, Southeast Nebraska Community Action Council, Humboldt, NE Shirley J. Tarwater, Missouri DOT, Jefferson City, MO Khuong Luu, FTA Liaison Cathy Monroe, FTA Liaison Lorna R. Wilson, FTA Liaison David Barr, American Public Works Association Liaison Christopher Zeilinger, Community Transportation Association of America Liaison Peter Shaw, TRB Liaison AUTHOR ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The research conducted for this Guidebook was performed through TCRP Project F-12 by the KFH Group, Inc. Sue Knapp, President of the KFH Group, was the Principal Investigator for the project and primary author of the Guidebook. Elisabeth (Lib) Fetting, Jason Quan, and Samantha Erickson assisted with the research and the survey effort. Dorothy Hersey contributed to the chapter on attracting and retaining employees, and Lib Fetting contributed to the chapter on making compensation decisions. Samantha Erickson provided support throughout the project, including an in-depth analysis of the national wage data. Finally, Jason Quan’s extraordinary computer skills were used to help build the Interactive Tool. We would also like to sincerely thank the many rural and small urban transit systems that participated in the research project for sharing their data and insights with the research team. C O O P E R A T I V E R E S E A R C H P R O G R A M S

TCRP Report 127: Employee Compensation Guidelines for Transit Providers in Rural and Small Urban Areas will be of interest to local transit providers and their governing boards. While the Guidebook largely addresses compensation, it also assists transit providers to recruit, hire and retain qualified employees. The Guidebook is accompanied by an interac- tive computer tool (located on the TRB website at http://trb.org/news/blurb_detail.asp? id=9282) that provides an easy way to explore salary and benefit characteristics of transit systems in rural and small urban areas. The primary purpose of the project was to collect and analyze current compensation data and develop guidelines for employee compensation so that rural and small urban transit managers have a meaningful resource to use when making wage and benefit decisions. The secondary project purpose was to provide transit managers with information that can be used to attract and retain employees in the unique environment and with the challenges faced by rural and small urban transit managers. The Guidebook and interactive computer tool were developed based on quantitative and qualitative information gathered from various sources, including a literature review and pre- vious research, a survey of transit operators, and one-on-one interviews. The primary source of data for the computer tool was a survey of rural and small urban operators across the coun- try. The project team developed and revised the survey instrument and tested it in one state before conducting a nationwide survey. A copy of the survey is included as Appendix A. The interactive computer tool that accompanies this Guidebook allows transit managers to quickly and easily obtain meaningful compensation and benefit data from comparable transit systems. By entering the basic characteristics of a transit system, service area, and operating environment, transit managers will query the database to compute and report salary and benefit characteristics of comparable systems. Section 3 of the report and the TRB website include details on how to use the tool. F O R E W O R D By Dianne S. Schwager Staff Officer Transportation Research Board

1 Section 1 Introduction 1 Objective of the Guidebook 2 Definition of Compensation 2 Compensation Issues Unique to Rural and Small Urban Transit 4 Guidebook Development 7 Guide Organization 8 Section 2 Wage and Benefit Data 8 Survey Data 11 System and Service Types in Relation to Compensation Levels 30 Summary of Compensation Factors 31 Section 3 Guide to Compensation Decisions 31 Setting or Adjusting Compensation Levels 33 Defining Consistent Job Categories 58 Other Influences—Wages and Compensation 59 Peer Comparisons Using the Computer Tool 61 Section 4 Recruiting, Hiring, and Retaining Staff 61 The Role of Human Resources 62 The Employment Cycle 62 Job Development 65 Recruiting 68 Hiring 71 Initial Training 73 Retention 83 Completing the Cycle 85 References 86 Bibliography 87 Appendix A Transit Agency Survey and Survey Responses 109 Appendix B Detailed Project Survey Data Disaggregated by Service Area Descriptions (2006-2007) 141 Appendix C Survey Project Data Disaggregated by System Size Descriptors (2006-2007) 158 Appendix D Survey Project Data Disaggregated by Organizational Descriptors (2006-2007) 171 Appendix E Survey Project Data Disaggregated by Transit Service Descriptors (2006-2007) C O N T E N T S

176 Appendix F Detailed Project Survey Data Disaggregated by Selected Employee Characteristics (2006-2007) 186 Appendix G Bureau of Labor Statistics Selected Wage Data, May 2006 193 Appendix H Exit Interviews

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TRB's Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) Report 127, Employee Compensation Guidelines for Transit Providers in Rural and Small Urban Areas explores salary and benefit characteristics of transit systems in rural and small urban areas. An interactive computer tool, produced as part of this project, is available online and is designed to allow transit managers to quickly and easily obtain compensation and benefit data from comparable transit systems.

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