Maintaining Transit Effectiveness Under Major Financial Constraints (2014)

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84 APPENDIX A Questionnaire/Survey Instrument The following questionnaire was sent to 46 public transportation agencies in the United States. The questionnaire could be com- pleted in hard copy or through a weblink. Forty of the 46 agencies provided responses. QUESTIONNAIRE/SURVEY QUESTIONS—MAINTAINING TRANSIT EFFECTIVENESS UNDER MAJOR FINANCIAL CONSTRAINTS—TCRP PROJECT SA-30 Name of your agency? _______________________________________________ Your name and contact information (phone and e-mail)? ___________________ What is the size of your agency by peak vehicles (including directly operated and contracted bus, rail, and paratransit vehicles)? Large (500+ vehicles) Medium (100–500 vehicles) Small (less than 100 vehicles) 1a. What was your total operating budget in FY 2008 (for all service including directly operated and contracted)? 1b. What was your total operating budget in FY 2012 (for all service including directly operated and contracted)? 1c. What was your capital budget in FY 2008? 1d. What was your capital budget in FY 2012? 2a. What were your total directly operated service hours in FY 2008? 2b. What were your total contracted service hours in FY 2008? 2c. What were your total directly operated service hours in FY 2012? 2d. What were your total contracted service hours in FY 2012? 3a. What were your passengers per hour for all your fi xed route service in FY 2008? (Please round to nearest whole number.) 3b. What were your passengers per hour for all your fi xed route service in FY 2012? (Please round to nearest whole number.) 4a. What was your total annual ridership in FY 2008? 4b. What was your total annual ridership in FY 2012? 5. If you decreased service between FY 2008 and FY 2012, did you.... £ decrease span of service (hours during the day) £ decrease weekend service £ reduce frequency of service (headways) £ reduce service on low demand routes £ eliminate routes £ Other, please specify:

85 6a. In keeping with the title of this TCRP project, how do you defi ne “transit effectiveness?” ________________________________________________ 6b. Is your defi nition of “transit effectiveness” part of the goal structure driving your organization? £ Yes £ No 6c. If you answered yes to question #6b, how are those goals articulated and translated into implementation? 7. Please identify what you think a “fi nancially sustainable” transit system is, what tools you need to achieve such a system, and how realistic it is to obtain such tools. 8a. Have you put any program in place to receive structured input from your ridership and/or your community to advise them of the fi scal stress and to ask them what their preferences would be if you had to reduce service (e.g., increase the fare rather than cut service, reduce frequency versus reduce span of service, etc.) or as you are planning new service? £ Yes £ No 8b. If you answered yes to question #8a, what were the results of seeking such input, what actions have you taken as a result, and what were the results in terms of transit effectiveness? 9a. Have you modifi ed how your agency is organized as one means of reducing costs and possibly improving effi ciency? £ Yes £ No 9b. If you answered yes to question #9a, please succinctly describe the reorganization. 9c. If you answered yes to question #9a, were there any lessons learned that could be shared, and has there been evidence of staff burnout? 10. Would you say you are £ Doing more with less resources £ Doing the same with less resources £ Doing less with less resources £ Doing more with the same resources 11a. Have you implemented any new form of managing through the use of better data (e.g., the TransitStat program in Cleveland, Six Sigma process in Miami, ISO 14001 certifi cation in Salt Lake City)? £ Yes £ No 11b. If you answered yes to question #11a, please describe the process you used so that others can understand well enough to consider using it. What have been the results? 11c. If you answered yes to question #11a, how and why did you come to implement this more data-driven management technique? 11d. If you answered yes to question #11a, how much effort and/or resources are required to conduct the method you implemented?

86 12a. Did you put into place any incentives for your managers and employees to help fi nd ways to raise revenues or reduce expenses without harming the best interests of your passengers? £ Yes £ No 12b. If you answered yes to question #12a, what were the incentives that you used? 12c. If you answered yes to question #12a, what were the results? 12d. What other actions have been taken to improve your fi scal status through collaboration with your workforce (e.g., gainsharing)? 13a. What labor contract provisions have you addressed to maintain effectiveness? £Wage modifi cations £ Extending length of time to reach top of the pay range £ Increased contribution by employees to health benefi ts £ Elimination of COLA £Work rule modifi cations, please specify: £ Other (please specify): £ N/A 13b. If you modifi ed any of your labor contract provisions, what provisions were changed and how much was saved with the changes? 13c. Have there been any negative or positive consequences to the quality of your service or in your labor/management relation- ship as a result of the labor negotiations or changed work rules? £ Yes £ No 13d. If you answered yes to question #13c, what were the consequences? 14a. Have you seriously considered, or actually implemented, any outsourcing of any functions: £ Vehicle operations £ Vehicle maintenance £ Facility maintenance £ Transit management £Marketing £ Administration £ Other, please specify: £ N/A 14b. What have been the results of each of your outsourcing efforts? 15a. Have you found ways to decrease or better control the cost of insurance (health, liability, workers comp, etc.) at your agency? £ Yes £ No

87 15b. If you answered yes to question #15a, please provide details on what was done and what the estimated savings have been. 16a. In terms of bus/train operational productivity, have you taken any of the following steps to improve service effi ciency? £ Comprehensive operations analysis £ Service design changes £ Utilization of Automatic Passenger Counting (APC) data £ Utilization of Automated Vehicle Location (AVL) data £ Runcutting software £ Use of service standards £ Techniques to reduce dwell time (reducing number of bus stops, traffi c signal priority, all door boarding, etc.) £ Other, please specify: £ None of the above 16b. What was the effect of each of the techniques that you implemented in question 16a in terms of savings or improved ridership? 16c. In reference to question #16a, have you been able to demonstrate any of the following effi ciencies: £ Increased passengers per mile £ Increased passengers per hour £ Increased passengers per capita £ Other, please specify: £ None of the above 17a Have you entered into any partnerships with any of the following organizations that have helped share the cost of providing new or existing service? £ Local schools £ Universities £ Business parks £ Hospitals £Museums £ Attractions £ Casinos £Military bases £ Downtown business interests £ Local governments £ Other, please specify: £ None of the above 17b. If you have entered partnerships noted in question #17a, please provide specifi cs on those agreements and what they have meant in either new revenues or reduced costs and the effect on transit ridership. 18a. Have you implemented effi ciencies that you have discovered from other transit agencies? £ Yes £ No

88 18b. If you answered yes to question #18a, what techniques did you learn and what were the results? 19. How has new technology in any area of your agency helped to reduce your costs and/or improve your effi ciency? (Please provide specifi cs in terms of what was done and the fi nancial impact on your budget.) 20a. Have you had success in implementing new ways of managing absenteeism due to sick leave, workers compensation, FMLA? £ Yes £ No 20b. If you answered yes to question #20a, please provide specifi cs and fi nancial results. 21a. Have you been able to reduce your operating costs through strategic use of your capital funding? £ Yes £ No 21b. If you answered yes to question #21a, please provide specifi c applications and fi nancial results. 22a. What are you capital needs in dollars over the next fi ve years? (enter numerals only—no dollar signs, rounded to the nearest whole number). 22b. What is your projected capital funding over the next fi ve years? (enter numerals only—no dollar signs, rounded to the nearest whole number). 23. What new ways have you discovered to take advantage of your equipment, facilities, or employees to earn new revenue (e.g., new ways of advertising on vehicles/property, charging owners of recreational vehicles to use your bus wash facilities, charg- ing for CDL training of non-transit-agency people, etc.)? Please be specifi c in terms of agreements and fi scal results. Question 24 asks for information from your various major departments. We understand that there might be overlap between depart- ments such as Operations and Service Planning, but please do your best to place your answers in what you believe are the most appropriate departments: 24a. Please provide the most signifi cant steps and actions that your Operations and Safety departments have taken to become more effi cient, generate new revenues, and/or reduce costs. Please provide estimates of savings or new revenues. 24b. Please provide the most signifi cant steps and actions that your Maintenance department has taken to become more effi cient, generate new revenues, and/or reduce costs. Please provide estimates of savings or new revenues. 24c. Please provide the most signifi cant steps and actions that your Planning and Scheduling department has taken to become more effi cient, generate new revenues, and/or reduce costs. Please provide estimates of savings or new revenues. 24d. Please provide the most signifi cant steps and actions that your Marketing department has taken to become more effi cient, generate new revenues, and/or reduce costs. Please provide estimates of savings or new revenues. 24e. Please provide the most signifi cant steps and actions that your Finance and Accounting department has taken to become more effi cient, generate new revenues, and/or reduce agency costs. Please provide estimates of savings or new revenues. 25. Please describe any other methods you have implemented to notably help either reduce costs or generate new revenues not described in any of your other answers, and please provide the estimated savings or revenues they have achieved. Far from being limited to these suggestions, it could include actions such as reducing utility costs, refi nancing debt, safety/risk man- agement improvements, methods to control paratransit costs, procurement methods, being entrepreneurial with your facili- ties, vehicles, and employees, etc. 26a. Do you see the actions you have taken and the improving fi scal situation allowing you to provide additional service in the near future? £ Yes £ No

89 26b. If you answered no to question #25a, why not? 26c. If you answered yes to question #25a, how much new service will be possible and when? Thank you very much for your generous willingness to participate in this survey! We are sure that the results will be of high interest and practical use to all operating transit agencies.