® BUS SERVICE RELIABILITY MBTA ADVISORY BOARD STAFF REPORT Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2014 https://archive.org/details/nnbtabusservicereOOtsih MBTA ADVISORY BOARD STAFF REPORT MBTA BUS SERVICE RELIABILITY: STANDARDS AND SUPERVISION *********** SEPTEMBER 1986 Honorable Eugene C. Brune, Mayor, City of Somerville Chairman MBTA Advisory Board Staff: Prepared by: Anne M. Larner, Andrew J. Tsihlis, Executive Director Operations Analyst Maria L. MacDonald, Executive Assistant Andrew J. Tsihlis, Operations Analyst Carol A. Wallace, Financial Analyst MBTA ADVISORY BOARD 120 Boylston Street, Suite 504 Boston, Massachusetts 02116-4604 (617) 426-6054 PREFACE This report presents the results of a study of bus service reli- ability and performance monitoring practices at the MBTA , The report was prepared for the MBTA Advisory Board by Andrew J. Tsihlis under the direction of Anne M. Larner/ Executive Director. Research/ data collection and analysis took place over the course of several months in 1985 and 1986. The author wishes to thank the following individuals for their input and comments during the course of the project: Eugene R. Attinoto Superintendent of Traffic/ Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority William J. Bratton Former Chief/ MBTA Police Department Connie M. Capuzzo Former Executive Assistant, MBTA Advisory Board Alan H. Castaline Acting Deputy Director of Operations for Passenger Services, MBTA Edward J. Dunn Chief Automotive Equipment Maintenance Officer/ MBTA Dennis R. Dyer Chief of Staff/ Transportation Department/ MBTA Jill S. Gabrielle Former Intern/ MBTA Advisory Board Albert E. Good Assistant General Counsel/ MBTA Frederick C. Goodine Special Projects Coordinator, Training Division/ MBTA Anne Y. Herzenberg Manager of Service Planning/ MBTA Lewjean L. Holmes Former Executive Director/ MBTA Advisory Board John K. Leary/ Jr. Director of Operations/ MBTA Paul J. Lennon Chief Transportation Officer, MBTA The author wishes also to thank the many MBTA employees and others who assisted at various stages of the project. TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY i CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Objective 1 1.2 Background 2 CHAPTER 2: MBTA MEASUREMENT OF BUS SERVICE RELIABILITY 2.1 The MBTA Bus System 6 2.2 Development of the MBTA Service Policy 7 2.3 MBTA Standards for Schedule Adherence 9 2.4 MBTA Standards for Service Dependability 11 2.5 Adherence to the MBTA Service Policy 13 CHAPTER 3: CURRENT MBTA BUS SERVICE PERFORMANCE 3.1 Currently Used MBTA Performance Indicators ... 15 3.2 1985 Missed MBTA Bus Trips 16 3.3 The MBTA Consumer and Reliability 18 3.4 Selection of MBTA Test Bus Routes and Measures 18 3.5 Field Study Results 23 CHAPTER 4: MBTA SCHEDULE-MAKING 4.1 The Significance of Schedules 27 4.2 Current MBTA Schedule-Making Procedures 28 4.3 Schedules and Reliability 30 4.4 Deficiencies in MBTA Schedule-Making 32 CHAPTER 5: FIELD SUPERVISION OF BUS OPERATIONS 5.1 Line Supervision 36 5.2 District Supervision 37 5.3 Radio Communications 38 5.4 Automated Vehicle Monitoring 39 5.5 MBTA Field Supervision 40 5.6 Industry Survey 41 5.7 Field Observation of MBTA Personnel 43 CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 6.1 Conclusions 51 6.2 Management Structure 52 6.3 Service Standards 52 6.4 Schedule-Making 53 6.5 Driver Training and Equipment 54 6.6 Inspector/Chief Inspector Training 55 6.7 Supervisory Techniques 57 6.8 Tools and Equipment 58 6.9 Deployment of Field Personnel 60 6.10 Future Research 61 APPENDICES 62 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Despite the importance of service reliability to passengers^ the MBTA / along with most American transit agencies/ fails to include reliability as a measure of service performance. Though the MBTA deserves credit for improving bus service performance since the early 1980s by reducing the number of missed bus trips/ missed trips are only one measure of performance. Generally/ passengers consider service to be reliable when it operates according to previously set headways (the number of minutes between trips) and schedules. Observation and analysis of selected MBTA bus routes by the Advisory Board study team showed that the majority of routes tested operated with extremely variable headways and would likely be per- ceived as unreliable by passengers. Further analysis of headway data and field observations underscored two points. First/ MBTA bus ser- vice reliability appears to be directly related to the level of field supervision; second/ Inspectors and Chief Inspectors are hampered in their attempts to regulate headways by built-in inadequacies in the MBTA's scheduling and training process. Though some factors affecting bus service reliability tend to be unpredictable, the MBTA can take steps to increase its ability to recognize and respond to them. Stability of service is directly related to the roles vehicle operators and first-line managers are assigned and the tools they are given. This report recommends changes in field supervision as a method of improving reliability. Findings and recommendations of the study include: i . 1. No single manager or department at the MBTA is responsible for monitoring and regulating service reliability. Recommendation ; The MBTA should either create the position of Manager of Service Reliability in the Transportation Department or consider the formation of a Traffic Section whose main responsi- bility would be to monitor service delivery. 2. Current standards for evaluating bus service are overly ambitious and often ignored. Recommendation ; The current Service Policy needs to be redesigned. Standards for service delivery should be developed which are both realistic and attainable. Standards which measure intermediate and terminal arrival times as well as headway variability should be appended to the current Service Policy. 3. Bus schedule adherence is not measured by the MBTA. Recommendation ; Schedule adherence needs to be a regular part of MBTA measurement of bus service performance. Lists showing when buses are due at intermediate and terminal points should be con- structed from running time sheets and distributed to all Inspec- tors and Chief Inspectors. Schedule adherence spot-checks should be made a daily requirement of all Inspectors and Chief Inspectors 4. Scheduled recovery time/trip time ratios exceed existing policy standards Recommendation : Scheduled running time sheets should be regularly updated to reflect real operating conditions. Timetable running times should reflect running time sheets. Nonproductive layover time should be reduced wherever possible. 5. Drivers are required to adhere to schedules but they are not supplied with intermediate or terminal arrival time information. Recommendation ; Every MBTA bus driver should be supplied with a card/ or driver paddle/ which shows departure and arrival times specific to his/her work assignment. 6, The MBTA does not monitor individual driver performance on a routine basis. Recommendation ; The MBTA should make regular on-board spot-checks of its drivers/ especially in response to complaints and accidents 7. The role of Inspectors and Chief Inspectors is poorly defined. Recommendation ; Inspectors and Chief Inspectors are first-line transportation supervisors whose job includes regulating service. Their training and recert i f icat ion programs should place more emphasis on this function in addition to current training in public safety. 8. Inspectors and Chief Inspectors have minimal input into the opera- tional planning process. Recommendation t The MBTA should institute regular discussion sessions where Inspectors and Chief Inspectors can express their ideas and recommendations for operational changes both among them- selves and to their supervisors. 9. Inspectors and Chief Inspectors need the proper tools and informa- tion to do their jobs. Recommendation : All MBTA field supervisors should be supplied with properly functioning portable radios/ vans and tool kits (for mobile Chief Inspectors). In addition/ MBTA field personnel should be provided with troubleshooting guides which outline spot- maintenance procedures for each type of surface vehicle operating in revenue service. 10. The MBTA*s current practice of centralizing field supervision of bus service at rapid transit terminals prevents Inspectors from monitoring service along a route and contributes to unreliable service. Recommendation ; The MBTA should continue to base field personnel at rapid transit stations. However/ each Inspector and Chief Inspector should be required to make random spot-checks of service performance (schedule adherence and operator driving habits) at various points in the vicinity of his/her base. iii . , CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Objective Providing reliable bus service to a region appears at first glance to be a relatively simple undertaking. Yet, a close look at the fine-tuned coordination which is necessary among a number of actors in order to bring a bus to a local stop at a predictable time paints another picture. This study started as a brief look at the MBTA ' s curb side bus service from a passenger point of view and quickly developed into a much broader analysis of the complex elements which must come together to ensure regular and predictable service to the communities in a transit district. As the study developed into a more complex undertaking, its primary objective remained the same, to look at the issue of reli- ability of service. Service reliability has been defined as the 1 consistency of headway, travel time and comfort. To arrive on-time at a particular destination is what is most