Cover Page MARTA Service Standards Fiscal Year 2018 Prepared by: Office of Transit System Planning Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority MARTA Service Standards | FY’18 Transit System Planning CONTENTS CONTENTS ..................................................................................................................... i Table of Figures ........................................................................................................... iii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................................. 1 Background ..................................................................................................................... 1 MARTA in Brief ............................................................................................................ 1 Overview of the Authority ............................................................................................. 2 Overview of the Service Area ...................................................................................... 2 Overview of the Service Delivery ................................................................................. 2 THE STANDARDS .......................................................................................................... 3 THE PROCESS .............................................................................................................. 4 Application of Service Standards ................................................................................. 4 Updating of Service Standards .................................................................................... 5 Legal & Contractual Requirements .............................................................................. 5 State Requirement (MARTA Act) ............................................................................. 5 Federal Requirements .............................................................................................. 5 Accessibility Requirements ...................................................................................... 6 Labor Agreement ..................................................................................................... 7 1. HEADWAYS............................................................................................................. 8 Rail .............................................................................................................................. 8 Headway by Period .................................................................................................. 8 Determining Factors ................................................................................................. 9 Bus .............................................................................................................................. 9 Headway by Period .................................................................................................. 9 Determining Factors ................................................................................................. 9 2. LOAD FACTORS ................................................................................................... 11 Rail ............................................................................................................................ 11 Bus ............................................................................................................................ 12 3. SERVICE HOURS ................................................................................................. 14 page i MARTA Service Standards | FY’18 Transit System Planning Rail ............................................................................................................................ 14 Bus ............................................................................................................................ 14 4. TRANSIT ACCESS ................................................................................................ 16 Rail ............................................................................................................................ 16 Bus ............................................................................................................................ 16 5. ROUTE PRODUCTIVITY ....................................................................................... 17 Rail ............................................................................................................................ 17 Bus ............................................................................................................................ 17 6. STOP SPACING .................................................................................................... 19 Rail ............................................................................................................................ 19 Bus ............................................................................................................................ 19 7. VEHICLE DISTRIBUTION ..................................................................................... 20 Rail ............................................................................................................................ 20 Bus ............................................................................................................................ 20 8. ON-TIME PERFORMANCE ................................................................................... 21 Rail ............................................................................................................................ 21 Bus ............................................................................................................................ 21 Bus Schedule Adherence Standards ..................................................................... 21 Bus Route Test ...................................................................................................... 22 Bus On-Time Performance .................................................................................... 22 9. TRANSIT AMMENITIES ........................................................................................ 23 Rail ............................................................................................................................ 23 Vehicle Amenities ................................................................................................... 23 Station Amenities ................................................................................................... 23 Bus ............................................................................................................................ 23 Vehicle Amenities ................................................................................................... 23 Stop Amenities – Benches & Shelters .................................................................... 24 10. OTHER SERVICE CONSIDERATIONS .............................................................. 26 MARTA Mobility ......................................................................................................... 26 Special Events ........................................................................................................... 27 Seasonal Routes ....................................................................................................... 27 page ii MARTA Service Standards | FY’18 Transit System Planning Contracted Services .................................................................................................. 28 11. SERVICE MONITORING & RIDERSHIP DATA REPORTING ............................ 29 12. SERVICE EVALUATION & MODIFICATION PROCESS .................................... 30 Guiding Principles ...................................................................................................... 30 Lifeline Service .......................................................................................................... 31 Transit-Dependency & Low-Income Status ............................................................ 31 Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST-Act) ...................................... 32 Facility Access ....................................................................................................... 32 Major Activity Center (MAC) Access ...................................................................... 33 Service Assessment Process .................................................................................... 33 Factors Affecting Service Modification Implementation .......................................... 35 All Service Modifications ........................................................................................ 35 Requests for New Service ...................................................................................... 36 Requests for Additions / Deletions to Existing Service ........................................... 37 Guidelines for Major Service Contraction .................................................................. 38 System Components .............................................................................................. 38 Duration ................................................................................................................. 40 Approval ................................................................................................................. 40 13. PUBLIC HEARING