Transit Quality of Service Applications Comprehensive Planning November 2, 2007 Florida Department of Transportation Public Transit Office.

Transit Quality of Service ApplicationsComprehensive Planning

November 2, 2007

Florida Department of Transportation Public Transit Office

Transportation Element

…adopted level of service standards for roads and transit

9J-5.019 (3) (h)

Transit Capacity and Quality of Service Manual

http://www.trb.org/news/blurb_detail.asp?id=2326

What is Transit Quality of Service?

• Evaluation from passenger’s point of view

• Intended to supplement traditional “business” measures

• Two primary aspects of quality of service– Availability– Comfort and convenience

Fixed-Route QOS Framework

Transit Stop Route Segment System

Availability Frequency Hours of Service Service Coverage

Comfort & Convenience

Passenger Load Reliability Transit-Auto

Travel Time

Service Frequency

• Nobody likes to wait

Service Frequency

QOSHeadway

(min)Veh/h Comments

A <10 >6 Passengers don’t need schedules

B 10-14 5-6Frequent service, passengers consult schedules

C 15-20 3-4Maximum desirable time to wait if bus/train missed

D 21-30 2 Service unattractive to choice riders

E 31-60 1 Service available during the hour

F >60 <1 Service unattractive to all riders

Service Frequency• Measure of transit accessibility & convenience

– Ease of making spur-of-the moment trips– Wait time when the schedule isn’t known or a bus

is missed– Attractiveness to choice riders

• Can be measured:– By street– By activity center pair

• Can be described as % of people with access to service at a particular QOS level

Example Frequency QOS Map

Hours of Service

• Many people want to stay out late

Hours of Service

QOS Hours of Service Comments

A 19-24 Night or “owl” service provided

B 17-18 Late evening service provided

C 14-16 Early evening service provided

D 12-13 Daytime service provided

E 4-11Peak hour service only or limited midday service

F 0-3 Very limited or no service

Hours of Service

• Hours of service describes how people can use transit service to make different types of trips– Peak-period commute trips only?– Midday-trips only?– Ability to stay late before returning home– Ability to access jobs with non-traditional

start/end times

• Can be described for:– Locations– Between activity center pairs

Example Hours of Service QOS Map

Hours of Service LOSCDEF

Streets

Service Coverage

• Everybody wants to go everywhere

Service CoverageQOS % TSA Covered Comments

A 90.0-100.0% Most major origins & destination served

B 80.0-89.9%

C 70.0-79.9% About ¾ of higher-density areas served

D 60.0-69.9%

E 50.0-59.9%

F <50.0%Less than half of higher-density areas served

TSA/Transit Supportive Area is the portion of the area being analyzed that has a household density of at least 3 units per gross acre or an employment density of at least 4 jobs per gross acre

Service Coverage

Transit-supportive area concept can be used to compare land use alternatives

– Is density in corridors or scattered nodes?– How many people/jobs are in areas that are

reasonably economical to serve with fixed-route transit?

– FTIS can be used for existing conditions– Easy to identify potential service gaps

Example Future Service Coverage Map

Transit-Supportive Areas

TSA served

TSA unserved

Service Coverage Area

Roads

Cities

Counties

Tallahassee

Gardner

Capitola

Passenger Load

• Everybody wants a seat

Passenger Load

QOS Load Factor Comments

A 0.00-0.50 No passenger need sit next to another

B 0.51-0.75 Passenger can choose where to sit

C 0.76-1.00 All passengers can sit

D 1.01-1.25* Comfortable standee load for design

E 1.26-1.50* Maximum schedule load

F >1.50* Crush load

Passenger Loads

Identify potential capacity deficiencies– Identify areas of strong demand that might

respond to service improvements– APC data becoming more widely available– NTD passenger-mile reporting sheets are

also a potential data source

Example Bus Passenger Load QOS Map

Reliability• Nobody likes to be late

Reliability QOS On-Time Percentage Comments

A 95.0-100.0% 1 late transit vehicle every 2 weeks

B 90.0-94.9% 1 late transit vehicle every week

C 85.0-89.9% 3 late transit vehicles every 2 weeks

D 80.0-84.9% 2 late transit vehicles every week

E 75.0-79.9% More than 2 late transit vehicles every week

F <75.0% 1 late transit vehicle at least daily

Reliability

• QOS explains reliability in easy to understand terms

– On-time performance • AVL system make reliability data relatively easy to

collect

• Look at reliability at multiple points along route to pinpoint problem locations/identify causes

Example of Reliability QOS• Identify routes with reliability issues

– Use targeted analysis to determine cause

Route On-Time Performance

QOS Additional Analysis?

1 86% C No

2 79% E Yes

3 83% D No

4 94% B No

5 57% F Yes

6 68% F Yes

Transit Auto Travel Time

• Everybody wants to get there fast

Transit to Auto Travel Time

QOS Travel Time Difference (min)

Comments

A 0 Faster by transit than by car

B 1-15 About as fast by transit as by car

C 16-30 Tolerable for choice riders

D31-45

Round-trip at least an hour longer by transit

E46-60

Tedious for all riders; may be best possible in small cities

F>60

Unacceptable to most riders

Transit-Auto Travel Time• Compare door-to-door travel times between:

– Activity center pairs• Overview of transit’s competitiveness for

different trip purposes within the region• Less effort required and easier to map

– Traffic analysis zones• Detailed comparison of competitiveness for

all trips covered by the regional model• Easy to describe results as “x % of trips

are QOS A”,etc.

Example Transit-Auto Travel Time QOS Table

FAMU

Tallahassee Memorial Hospital

Governor's Square Mall FSU

High Road Apartments Woodgate

Capital Circle Office Center

Tallahassee Regional Airport

Walmart, Quincy

Winn Dixie, Crawfordville

TAZ 128 184 201 244 251 299 696 754 1257 1601FAMU 128 D D C D D C D C ETallahassee Memorial Hospital 184 E E D E B E D F EGovernor's Square Mall 201 D E C D E D D C EFSU 244 C D C B D D D F EHigh Road Apartments 251 D D D B E D D F EWoodgate 299 E B E D E E E F ECapital Circle Office Center 696 C E D D D E E D ETallahassee Regional Airport 754 D D D D D E E C FWalmart, Quincy 1257 C F C F F F D C DWinn Dixie, Crawfordville 1601 E E E E E E E F D

Key Points

Develop transit QOS standards to guide transit policy

• Describe % of people experiencing different levels of service to demonstrate benefits

• Identify service deficiencies• Strategize solution• Capital Improvements Element• Transit proportionate share

Transportation Element

…adopted level of service standards for roads and transit

9J-5.019 (3) (h)

Transit Capacity and Quality of Service Manual

http://www.trb.org/news/blurb_detail.asp?id=2326