Guidebook for Rural Demand-Response Transportation: Measuring, Assessing, and Improving Performance (2009) / Chapter Skim
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Pages 10-22
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From page 10... ...
This list was then distilled to six key data elements for performance assessment, in keeping with the research project's objective of selecting a limited number of performance data elements and measures. For rural DRT systems, a similar set of six data elements is used for this Guidebook as the key data for performance assessment purposes: • Vehicle-hours, • Vehicle-miles, • Passenger trips, • Total operating expense, • Accidents/safety incidents, and • On-time trips In addition to these data elements, a number of others are identified and discussed in this chapter.
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From page 11... ...
, Rural NTD does not ask for "vehicle-hours." Rather, Rural NTD asks systems to report vehicle revenue hours. The standard definition for vehicle revenue hours is the time from first passenger pick-up to last passenger drop-off, not including any deadhead time, or any charter service, vehicle operator training, vehicle maintenance testing, or scheduled operator time off such as a formal lunch break.
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From page 12... ...
to go into service until the time that the DRT vehicle pulls in after completing service -- "pull-out to pull-in." Vehicle-miles include deadhead miles needed to travel to the first pick-up location and from the last drop-off location, but do not include any miles for charter service, vehicle operator training, or vehicle maintenance testing. Vehicle-miles, therefore, correspond to vehicle-hours; they are the miles traveled while the DRT vehicle is accumulating vehicle-hours.
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From page 13... ...
The Rural NTD has added an additional term for passenger trips: sponsored unlinked passenger trips, which is defined as DRT trips that are paid in part or in whole by a third-party such as a human service agency or Medicaid agency. This Guidebook uses the term passenger trips.
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From page 14... ...
The Rural NTD, however, does not ask reporters for operating costs by mode. Rather, Rural NTD asks for the annual operating expenses for all the rural transit services operated, including DRT.
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While contracting for service is less common for rural DRT systems than for urban DRT, there may be cases where the DRT service contractor provides the vehicles. The contractor may charge one unit cost per hour or per trip that includes both the operating costs associated with vehicle operations and maintenance and the capital cost associated with providing the vehicle.
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According to NTD, an injury requires immediate medical attention away from the accident scene. Immediate medical attention includes, but is not limited to, transport to the hospital by ambulance.
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In such cases, the dispatcher maintains the records and should ensure that the data are reported on the schedules so that comparisons can be made of the actual times versus the scheduled times. For those rural DRT systems that have Mobile Data Terminals (MDTs)
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From page 18... ...
18 Guidebook for Rural Demand-Response Transportation: Measuring, Assessing, and Improving Performance 1 As explained earlier in this chapter, Rural NTD asks reporters to report "vehicle revenue hours," but defines this data element, for the DRT mode only, as the time the vehicles pull-out to go into revenue service to the time they pull-in from revenue service, which is the definition typically used for vehicle-hours, not revenue-hours.
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From page 19... ...
Regarding the reporting of no-shows, some DRT systems require that vehicle operators obtain approval from a dispatcher before marking a passenger a no-show. This allows the dispatcher Performance Data for Rural DRT 19
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From page 20... ...
Rural DRT systems may not routinely collect data on missed trips, but it should be monitored if missed trips become problematic. Trip Denials A trip denial is a DRT trip that is requested by a passenger, but that the DRT system is not able to provide typically because capacity is not available at the passenger's requested time.
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From page 21... ...
In such cases, the DRT system should collect, report, and monitor trip length data. Data Collection for Trip Length One approach would be to have the vehicle operators record odometer readings at each pickup and drop-off location for a sampled time period -- for example, a 1-week period several times per year -- which would provide the trip lengths of the sampled passenger trips.
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From page 22... ...
3.5 Rural DRT -- Performance Data to Measure Transit Impact In addition to the more traditional performance data used to assess DRT service, less traditional data elements may also be used particularly if there is an interest in incorporating social values in DRT performance assessment. Such data elements recognize that rural transit often serves predominately those who depend on transit and that the more traditional data elements such as passenger trips and vehicle-miles do not necessarily capture the role of rural transit in improving the quality of life for rural residents.
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