MBTA SCORECARD DECEMBER 2009 MESSAGE FROM THE GENERAL MANAGER Dear reader, Thank you for reading the MBTA ScoreCard. This ScoreCard reflects the MBTA’s commitment to safe and reliable transportation and its goal of being transparent and accountable. At the MBTA we are constantly working to improve the quality of the service we deliver to our customers. With this ScoreCard we now publish the same performance metrics that we use internally to measure our progress towards meeting our service quality goals. This month we feature a Spotlight on the Blue Line, highlighting the transformation of the line with the change from four-car trains to six-car trains and extensive station renovations and other improvements. We also report on the following key areas: • Ridership: How many people ride the MBTA’s services every day? How does ridership break down by type of service? • On-Time Performance: How often are different MBTA services on time? How does the MBTA measure what’s on time and what isn’t? • Infrastructure: Good track maintenance is vital to safe and fast subway service. What condition are the MBTA’s tracks in? • Dropped Trips: Does the MBTA run all the trips that are scheduled? Why might a trip not be run? What percentage of the scheduled trips run on my bus route or subway line? • Vehicle Reliability: How reliable are the MBTA’s buses and trains? Does the MBTA have enough vehicles ready to run its service every day? What is the MBTA doing to maintain and improve its vehicles? This report is for you, and as always your feedback is very important to us. How can we make it better? Please email us with comments and suggestions at [email protected]. Thank you for taking the time to read the ScoreCard, and we look forward to providing more information on our performance in the future. William Mitchell Acting General Manager MBTA SCORECARD – DECEMBER 2009 – PAGE 1 SPOTLIGHT ON THE BLUE LINE Introduction If you have not been on the Blue Line in a few years, you might not recognize it today. The new trains are 50% longer than the old trains were a year ago. Most of the stations have been renovated or completely rebuilt. The MBTA has upgraded the signals, stations and maintenance facility. The 10-year improvement program means the Blue Line now can provide better service to more customers than ever before. New Trains Old four-car train at Maverick (pre-rebuild) New six-car train at rebuilt Aquarium Station The first six car Blue Line train entered service in September 2008. For 14 months the Blue Line operated a mix of four-car and six-car trains, as the new trains were built by the manufacturer, tested by the MBTA, put through a 500- mile “burn-in period,” and placed into service. In November 2009, the Blue Line phased out the last of its 30-year-old four-car trains and now only operates the brand new six-car trains. The new trains are 50% larger to reduce crowding and carry more customers, but that is not the only difference between the new and old trains. The new trains are also designed to be more reliable using the latest technology, including a number of other new customer friendly improvements: • Larger seats • New on-board announcement system that announces and displays every stop • Open area for customers with wheelchairs or other mobility devices • Customer-activated push-button doors to facilitate six-car berthing at Bowdoin Station MBTA SCORECARD – DECEMBER 2009 – PAGE 2 SPOTLIGHT ON THE BLUE LINE New Stations New Maverick Station entrance New Airport Station interior PHOTO CREDIT: JOHN NELSON PHOTO CREDIT: JOSEPH BARILLARI Since 2003, eight of the Blue Line’s twelve stations have been renovated (Wonderland, Revere, Beachmont, Wood Island) or completely rebuilt (Airport, Maverick, Aquarium.) Construction at State Street continues and construction at Government Center is planned for the future. This work was necessary to make the platforms longer to accommodate six-car trains, but it did much more than just make the stations bigger. Ten of the Blue Line’s twelve stations are now fully accessible to persons with disabilities, and additional features include: • Dynamic, welcoming architecture • Better lighting • Improved customer information • Public art Upgraded Infrastructure In addition to the highly visible changes in MBTA stations, the MBTA made a number of critical behind-the-scenes improvements to make the six-car Blue Line trains a success: • The Blue Line signal system was upgraded to support six-car trains and to improve service reliability. • Cameras, monitors and mirrors were installed at stations so the train operator can see all the doors to open and close them. • The Blue Line’s maintenance facility is being expanded to support the longer trains. MBTA SCORECARD – DECEMBER 2009 – PAGE 3 RIDERSHIP REPORT Average Ridership per Weekday by Month, in millions (July 2007-Present) 1.4 1.3 1.2 Ridership in Millions in Ridership 1.1 1.0 Ridership Breakdown by Service Type Increasing ridership is always a goal at the MBTA. There are many factors that October 2009 impact ridership, including the economy, gas prices, and quality of service. In Boat Private The Ride 0.3% Carrier the summer and fall of 2008, a spike in gas prices caused a similar spike in 0.5% 0.2% ridership as more people looked to save money by riding the T. In 2009 the Commuter economic slowdown meant people were taking fewer trips for work or shopping, Rail Bus and 10.4% Trackless and ridership declined slightly. Trolley 30.2% Light Rail 19.2% Ridership measures the average number of trips taken on MBTA services each weekday. It represents “unlinked trips,” the most common way to measure transit ridership, which counts every time any customer boards an MBTA vehicle. For example if a customer takes the bus to Harvard Square and transfers to the Heavy Rail Red Line there to go downtown, that would count as two unlinked trips, one on a 39.1% bus and one on heavy rail. Bus and subway ridership is estimated based on CharlieCard or CharlieTicket or cash transactions on MBTA fareboxes and faregates. A certain percent is then added to account for people who ride without interacting with that equipment (like those who transfer within downtown subway stations, those who show their passes to an inspector, or children). That percentage is calculated based on periodic studies and ridership counts conducted in-person. Currently, not every farebox is emptied and scanned each day, so even though ridership information is collected electronically it’s not immediately available at the end of the month. However, the MBTA’s goal is to have daily counts available from the Automated Fare Collection (AFC) system in the future. Before the MBTA finished installing its new Automated Fare Collection system in January 2007, bus and subway ridership were based on pass sales and the money and tokens collected from fareboxes and turnstiles. Less data was collected and it was not always easy to assign numbers to one month or the next, so the data collected after January 2007 is more precise than the data collected Ridership: Percentage change compared to same month of previous year before it. November 2008 -October 2009 Dec-08, 4.9% Commuter rail and boat ridership is from counts made of every trip by the Conductor and the ferry operator, M ar-09, -1.1% Sep-09, -0.5% Aug-09, -2.6% Oct-09, -2.5% respectively. Paratransit ridership (THE RIDE) is based Nov-08, -3.2% Apr-09, -3.6% Jan-09, -4.8%Feb-09, -4.9% Jun-09, -5.0% Jul-09, -6.0% on the service’s reservation and scheduling system. M ay-09, -7.4% MBTA SCORECARD – DECEMBER 2009 – PAGE 4 RIDERSHIP REPORT Derivation of Average Weekday Ridership, October 2009 Data Bus and Trackless Trolley: Transactions from fareboxes and faregates 356,730 Allocate shared gate entries (South Station) (from survey) 3,228 Children, Evasion, Rear Door, Flash Passes: - Farebox transactions (add 9.8%) 34,646 - Faregate transactions (add 3.7%) 238 Ungated transfers at South Station (from survey) 4,279 Total Unlinked Passenger Trips 399,121 Heavy Rail (Red, Orange, Blue) Transactions from faregates 400,970 Allocate shared gate entries (Park Street, etc.) (from survey) -5,285 Children, Evasion (add 3.7%) 14,640 Ungated transfers (from survey) 106,414 Total Unlinked Passenger Trips 516,739 Light Rail (Green, Mattapan) Transactions from fareboxes and faregates 144,603 Allocate shared gate entries (Park Street, etc.) (from survey) 2,058 Children, Evasion, Rear Door, Flash Passes: - Faregate transactions (add 3.7%) 3,590 - Farebox transactions (add 33.0%) 16,378 Ungated Transfers (from survey) 87,064 Total Unlinked Passenger Trips 253,693 THE RIDE 6,897 Commuter Rail 137,104 Water Transportation 4,212 Private Carrier Bus 2,589 ALL MODES Total Unlinked Passenger Trips per Weekday 1,320,354 MBTA SCORECARD – DECEMBER 2009 – PAGE 5 ON-TIME PERFORMANCE REPORT On-time performance measures how closely the service ran to the schedule, as experienced by the customer. Many factors affect on-time performance. Some, like mechanical problems or speed restrictions, are within the MBTA’s control. Others, like medical emergencies and delayed freight trains blocking commuter rail traffic, are not. Regardless of the cause the MBTA strives to work around problems, minimize delay, and maximize on-time performance. The MBTA Service Delivery Policy defines how on-time performance is measured and what the goals are. To keep the measurement an accurate representation of customer experience, it works differently for different modes of travel. Subway On the subway system customers walk up to the platform and wait for the next train.