Guidebook for Rural Demand-Response Transportation: Measuring, Assessing, and Improving Performance (2009) / Chapter Skim
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Pages 33-45
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From page 33... ...
This is highly important for ensuring that effective manifests are created for the vehicle operators, with logical groupings of passenger trips and efficient sequencing of pick-ups and drop-offs at the same time ensuring the riders are picked up on-time and do not have excessive travel times. A DRT manager can improve the system's level of scheduling skills by ensuring that the scheduler or schedulers bring appropriate experience to the position, that initial and ongoing training are provided, that the wage and benefit package encourages stability in the position, that appropriate "tools" are provided for doing the job, and that there are opportunities for feedback from the operators and others out on the road for a "reality check" on the manifests.
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From page 34... ...
Operations Hiring practices and training for vehicle operators Controllable Operator wages and benefits Controllable / Partially Controllable Timely vehicle pull-outs with back-up operator availability Controllable Relationship of paid operator-hours to vehicle-hours Controllable Wages and benefits for other operating staff Controllable / Partially Controllable Deadhead time and miles Partially Controllable Average system speed Partially Controllable Scheduling/Dispatch Skills in creating effective manifests Controllable Matching vehicle-hours to ridership demand Controllable Service Policies Related to No-shows and late cancellations Controllable Length of advance reservation period Controllable Service span: days and hours of service Controllable Rider assistance: door-to-door, curb-to-curb, packages, child car seat, etc. Controllable Vehicles Vehicle type and mix; vehicle specifications Partially Controllable Vehicle condition and maintenance practices Controllable Maintenance expenses Controllable Administration Staffing and administrative expenses Controllable Safety Safety policies and procedures Controllable System's "culture of safety" Controllable Service-Area Environment Service-area size, roadway network, density, land use patterns, constraints (e.g., mountains, bridges, railroad crossings)
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From page 35... ...
• Scheduling/dispatch: – Ability to create effective and efficient manifests for operators; and – Extent to which scheduled vehicle-hours match ridership demand patterns. • Operating policies related to: – No-shows and late cancellations -- effectiveness of the DRT system's policies and ability to monitor and manage rider infractions; – Length of the advance reservation window; – Days and hours of operation and, for large service areas, limiting days/hours of service for specific geographic areas; and – Passenger assistance -- curb-to-curb, door-to-door or door-through-door, handling riders' personal items such as grocery bags, and use of child safety seats.
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From page 36... ...
While every DRT system will experience some level of no-shows and late cancellations, they can be partially controlled by policies that address their occurrence as well as performance levels that ensure service is reliable and timely. – Dwell time: this is influenced by DRT system policy (i.e., the wait time)
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From page 37... ...
The State of California, for instance, has set specific standards for the achievement of farebox recovery for systems that receive certain state transit funds. Assessing Performance -- A Typology of Rural DRT 37 Figure 5-1.
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From page 38... ...
. However, in addition to urban versus rural, there are a number of other criteria affecting performance: • Ridership market served, • Service area or operating environment, • Type of routing and scheduling, • Advanced request versus immediate request service, • Type of organization -- transportation only versus multi-purpose agency, • Type of operator -- public agency versus contractor, • Dedicated versus non-dedicated vehicles, • Use of advanced technology, • Door-to-door versus curb-to-curb service, • Use of volunteers, • Provision of Medicaid non-emergency transportation, and • Vehicle operating experience.
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From page 39... ...
Given the important distinctions, ridership market served was one of the criteria used to categorize urban DRT systems for TCRP Report 124. Most rural DRT systems, however, are available to the general public rather than being limited to specific rider groups, so differences in the rider groups served are less useful for categorizing rural systems.
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From page 40... ...
In this way, the rural DRT system has grouped riders' trips from the outlying community by constraining them to a set schedule. Such hybrid demand/scheduled service might be seen as "few-to-few." While the type of routing/scheduling has an important affect on DRT performance, it is difficult to capture with discrete categories since DRT systems are not solely many-to-many or 40 Guidebook for Rural Demand-Response Transportation: Measuring, Assessing, and Improving Performance
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From page 41... ...
Some cost differences by type of organization were also found among urban DRT systems through analyses done for this research project. Based on the performance data from the urban DRT systems, it was found that those urban DRT systems operated by transit districts and transit authorities tended to have a higher cost structure than those operated by other types of organizations, predominately cities, as measured by operating Assessing Performance -- A Typology of Rural DRT 41
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From page 42... ...
These findings suggest that the cost structure for rural transit systems operating in multi-county areas will be somewhat lower compared with rural systems in the primarily municipal and primarily single-county service areas, and the performance data from the rural DRT systems participating in this research study bear this out. Data from the study's sample of rural DRT systems show that the average operating cost per hour for systems in the multi-county service area are less than the average cost per hour for systems in the other two service-area categories, by roughly 30% to 35%.
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From page 43... ...
For rural transit, advanced technology has also been found to facilitate performance improvements in customer service with improved information available to give to riders, improved system safety, reduced data entry time, and improved control of vehicle operators and their hours (26)
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From page 44... ...
For example, if operating statistics for the volunteer component are included in the system's total operating data and costs, performance on measures that use operating costs may look "better" given that there will be no labor costs for the volunteers. This research study found that only one of the participating rural DRT systems uses volunteers on a regular basis, and operating data and costs for this service component are kept separate from other DRT services.
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From page 45... ...
DRT performance can be impacted where there are high rates of turnover among vehicle operators as many operators leave their positions before they become experienced. TCRP Project F-13, "Vehicle Operator Recruitment, Retention, and Performance in ADA Complementary Paratransit Services," has been investigating the relationships among vehicle operator recruitment, retention, and performance, specifically in relation to ADA paratransit services.
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