Adoption of New DART Service Standards

Transcription

1 Adoption of New DART Service Standards Operations, Safety & Security Committee September 11, 2018 Rob Smith, AVP Service Planning & Scheduling 1

2 Background DART Service Standards are a policy document designed to guide planning for new services and evaluation of service performance We have been discussing changes to the current Standards in order to drive service improvements that would speed up transit service and improve access to jobs Service standards are one of at least three current DART initiatives related to DART bus service: 1. Service Standards 2. August 2019 Service Improvements 3. New Transit Service Plan 2

3 Timeline for Service Planning Initiatives Start Process Service Standards Approve Changes Start Process Approve Changes Aug 19 Changes Implement Start Process Adopt Plan New Transit System Plan Start to Implement Future Changes Early System Plan work will influence August 2019 changes, and adopted Plan will direct changes in 2020 and beyond 3

4 Standards Revisions Over the past year, staff has presented a series of briefings on potential changes to DART Service Standards Based upon the feedback received from these briefings, we have compiled a new draft Service Standards document, included as an attachment The document follows the same basic structure as the current document, but there have been extensive changes throughout Changed sections are highlighted in red in the draft 4

5 Service Standards Briefings Recap Topic Potential Timing Performance measurement December 2017 Route types and structure February 2018 Board policy considerations March 2018 Service span (hours of service) April 2018 Service frequency May 2018 Amenities June 2018 Directness of service July 2018 ADA Paratransit, On time performance August 2018 Board action on revised Service Standards Present 5

6 Most Significant Changes Creation of a new Core Frequent Route service category with higher service frequency and extended service span A new route performance monitoring system A new point-based system for determining placement of bus stop amenities Details on each follow 6

7 Service Type Definitions, Including Core Frequent Route Service Current standards are built around definitions of service types, and these types are used in defining appropriate service levels and in the route performance evaluation system The draft adds a new service category: the Core Frequent Route Network Core routes would serve high-ridership corridors that are integral to the DART service network, including a mix of bus and rail services Core routes are characterized by a wider span of operating hours and higher service frequencies Wider service span is designed to target work shifts that begin as early as 6am and finish as late as 11pm Span: 4:00am-1:00am where there is demonstrated demand for service 7

8 Service Type Definitions, Including Core Frequent Route Service Frequency: 15 minutes weekday peak periods, 20 minutes midday, and minutes at other times Core routes are intended to serve routes with: High residential densities, key activity centers, and preferably both within walking distance Demonstrated high transit ridership performance and productivity Complementary to other parts of the DART Core network without duplicating key services Core routes would be identified as a part of periodic system and bus service planning efforts, including Transit System Plans and Comprehensive Operations Analysis (COA) efforts 8

9 Route Performance Measurement System Continue to evaluate performance by route type Discontinue use of RPI and change key performance measures used Three key performance measures: Passengers per revenue hour (used currently) Passenger miles per revenue mile (new measure designed to address issues with longer routes vs. shorter routes) Subsidy per passenger (used currently) Set targets for each route type based upon 75% of the average performance of the group 9

10 Route Performance Measurement System Routes would continue be measured quarterly Routes that fail to meet any of the three performance targets will be targeted for action to improve performance Actions include: Targeted marketing Service frequency changes Service period, day adjustments Rerouting Rescheduling Eliminating unproductive segments Consolidation with other routes Replacement with GoLink service Elimination of the route Example: Use of 75% Target 3Q17 Analysis of Riders/Revenue Hour for Transit Center Feeder Routes Route Revenue Hours Riders Riders/ Revenue Hour 378 5, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Group 36, , % of group average:

11 Bus Stop Amenity Warrants Placement of bus stop amenities would be determined by a new pointbased system Amenities include bus shelters, benches, free-standing lights, and smart shelters Basic requirements: 50 points for a standard bus shelter 25 points for a bench 12 points for a free-standing light 90 points for a smart shelter (installed by default in Rapid Ride corridors) A table showing the methodology for scoring points appears on the next slide 11

12 Bus Stop Amenity Warrants Category Bus Shelter Average Daily Boardings Sensitive Use Area Low income population ($35K and below) Bench Average Daily Boardings Sensitive Use Area Low Income Population ($35K and below) Free Standing Lights Average Daily Boardings High Crime Area (Assault and Individual Robbery) Stop serves routes with 30 or more minute headway at night Smart Shelter Average Daily Boardings Rapid Ride Routes Points 50 Points Required 1 point per average daily boarding 10 points 10 points 25 Points Required 1 point per average daily boarding 5 points 5 points 12 Points Required 1 point per average daily boarding 2.5 points 2.5 points 90 Points Required 1 point per average daily boarding Placed at all Rapid Ride stops 12

13 Impact of New Amenity Standards CURRENT STANDARDS: ELIGIBLE FOR AMENITIES PROPOSED: NEWLY ELIGIBLE FOR AMENITIES 114 shelters 298 benches 22 additional shelters 135 additional benches 26 additional smart shelters Cost of these additional facilities: $2.8 million 13

14 Other Changes Beyond these three highlighted changes, there are revisions throughout the draft The draft carries the same basic structure as the previous version, with a preface and 10 topical sections There were revisions to the preface and 9 of the 10 sections Summaries of the changes follow 14

15 Changes: Introductory Sections Preface Updates to reflect changes included in new draft document Section 1 Strategic Priorities updated to reflect current Board-adopted priorities Section 2 Updated introductory text reflecting purpose of new Standards Updates to disparate impact/disproportionate burden analysis to reflect recent FTA guidance on the definitions of each 15

16 Changes: Bus Route/Service Design Guidelines Section 3 Define new Core Frequent Route Network service category, with minimum service frequency (15 minutes peak, 20 minutes midday, and minutes at other times) and wider service hours (start at 4am) Transit Center and Rail Feeder routes were combined into a single route classification Define new Rapid Ride service category, covering potential new limitedstop BRT service when it is introduced Re-define On Call service category to match more recent GoLink service practices and integration of various mobility on demand elements (e.g. use of dedicated vehicles and transportation network companies) 16

17 Changes: Bus Route/Service Design Guidelines Section 3 Minor changes to geometric design considerations to reflect current practice on minimum lane widths for transit Route directness guidelines have been expanded to address both the directness of individual routes and travel times for multi-vehicle trips over the network Travel times should be no more than two times the total travel time as a comparable automobile trip (this may not be feasible for very short or very long trips) DART will regularly consider the impact on how route changes impact access to jobs from low-income neighborhoods, with a goal of increasing the share of destinations reachable in an hour over time 17

18 Changes: Bus Route/Service Design, Bus/Rail Interface Guidelines Section 3 Service span section updated to call for wider hours of service (4am- 1am) for Core services Service frequency guidelines are updated to reflect Core and Rapid Ride services, and Feeder minimum frequencies were adjusted Standards addressing the transition of demand-responsive to fixedroute service were updated to reflect GoLink operations Section 4 No changes to bus/rail interface guidelines 18

19 Changes: Rail Service Design Guidelines, Paratransit Services Section 5 New definitions for different types of rail service were added, including light rail, commuter rail, and streetcar Service span tables were updated to reflect the three modes, with light rail service hours matching the Core bus network (4am-1am) Rail service frequency tables were updated to reflect the three modes Section 6 Various sections on paratransit service were updated to reflect current practice and FTA guidelines, including pick-up windows, capacity constraints, subscription trips, service availability, and hours for reservations 19

20 Changes: Service Quality Section 7 Vehicle loading standards were updated to reflect new bus and rail service types On-time performance sections were revised to reflect full automatic vehicle location (AVL) system data collection The standards define reporting standards for bus/streetcar (between 0:59 minutes early and 4:59 late considered on time) and for light rail/commuter rail (between 0:59 early and 2:59 late) 20

21 Changes: Route Performance Measurement Section 8-9 Three key measures of service performance: passengers per revenue hour, passenger miles per revenue mile, and subsidy per passenger, with updated definitions for each Routes will continue to be evaluated each quarter by comparing routes to other routes of the same type Performance targets for each service type will be defined as 75% of the group average Routes that fail to meet any of the three performance targets will be targeted for action directed toward improving performance, ranging from targeted marketing to elimination of service Sections were updated to reflect new measures 21

22 Changes: Bus Stops, Amenities Section 10 A new point system would be used to determine if bus stops are candidates for amenities, with point values based upon boarding activity, proximity to sensitive uses, proximity to low-income populations, crime rates, and service frequency Amenities addressed include bus shelters, benches, free-standing lights, and smart shelters Several items on the placement of amenities were updated to reflect current practice and to incorporate provisions for lighting 22

23 Potential Action Staff offers this draft as a potential action item, subject to any changes requested by the Board of Directors 23

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