Yuko J Nakanishi

PART 1: Bus: Bus Performance Indicators: On-Time Performance and Service Regularity

New York City Transit has established a customer-oriented bus performance indicator program. The program contains two schedule adherence indicators—en route on-time performance and service regularity—that measure different aspects of service performance experienced by the customer. The indicators and analysis methodologies are described in detail. What do these indicators really measure? And what types of further analysis can be performed using the underlying data? These are some of the issues addressed. Recommendations are made for adding a third indicator to the performance indicator program.

Productivity analysis in heterogeneous operating conditions : Data envelopment analysis method applied to the U.S. heavy rail industry

The problem of productivity analysis and heterogeneous operating conditions in the transit industry is addressed. A new method, sequential data envelopment analysis (DEA), is presented. This method accounts for the operating conditions of transit agencies by using a two-step procedure involving DEA and statistical analyses. Sequential DEA was applied to 14 rail transit systems in the United States for the years 1984-1997 to determine productivity levels. The output analyzed was passenger miles, and the three operating conditions selected for inclusion in this nonparametric analysis were population density, transit share of the journey to work trips, and station availability. The results of the sequential DEA productivity analysis indicate that the rail transit industry, on average, operates at a technical efficiency of 76% in using its fixed input. This result is 8% higher than the efficiency levels estimated by conventional DEA. In addition, the referent agencies and optimal output levels for each agency were identified.

ASSESSING EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS OF TRANSIT AGENCIES: FOCUS ON PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

In any emergency situation, a certain degree of confusion and chaos occurs. The more organized and orderly the response effort, the more likely that lives may be saved and property preserved. Emergency preparedness can enable transit agencies to react to an emergency on or off transit property. Evacuations and transport of emergency police, fire, and emergency medical technician personnel to and from the incident site may be facilitated by using transit vehicles. Because emergencies do not occur frequently, it is unadvisable to wait until they happen to evaluate a transit agency’s level of emergency preparedness. Instead, proposed is the development of performance indicators that measure the achievement of emergency preparedness goals and policies of a transit agency. An emergency preparedness assessment flowchart incorporating performance indicators was developed. Overall emergency preparedness indicators and sample performance indicators for each component are suggested along with standards and data sources for the indicators. In addition, the use of cost–benefit analysis is suggested to facilitate security-related investment decisions by agency management.

Telecom, Traffic Cones, and the Big One: Identifying Transportation and Communications Emergency Support Workforces and Calculating Their Exposure to Seismic Peak Ground Accelerations

Successful post-disaster response and recovery depends on prompt restoration of infrastructure, including transportation or communications. However, disasters can have an impact on the workforce responsible for restoration, for example, by damaging their homes. This study has two goals: 1. Identify workers potentially participating in restoring transportation and communications infrastructure; 2. Calculate these workers’ exposure to the peak ground accelerations (PGAs) of a 7.8 magnitude earthquake in a Southern California scenario, and compare it with the rest of the working population’s exposure. Four steps are required. First, calculate the mean PGA for each affected public use microdata area (PUMA). Second, identify the infrastructure restoration workforce by specifying Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) and North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes. When specifying, use the Emergency Support Function (ESF) Annexes for Transportation (ESF#1) and Communications (ESF#2) to clarify workers’ roles and responsibilities. This ESF-specific listing of codes is a novel contribution. Third, via frequency table, calculate the mean and standard deviation of transportation and communications workers’ exposure to PGAs in their PUMAs of residence. Finally, test the difference in mean PGA exposures between two populations: (a) transportation or communications workers and (b) the rest of the working population. This study finds that, for this scenario, transportation workers are exposed to statistically significant higher PGAs than non-transportation workers, and communication workers to significantly lower PGAs. For practitioners, knowing which worker categories a disaster disproportionately affects could justify pre-event investments in workforce preparedness and recovery planning efforts.

Security awareness and alertness training in state departments of transportation

A summary is presented of a survey of how state departments of transportation train their employees for security awareness and alertness. Eighteen states are included in the survey, which began in 2004. The purpose of this survey was the development of recommendations for a comprehensive training program and associated training materials for transportation security.

Evaluation of Biometric Technologies for Access Control at Transportation Facilities and Border Crossings

To ensure that only authorized individuals—legitimate workers, travelers, and visitors—enter a transportation facility or border crossing, their identities must be ascertained. Because manual procedures are time-consuming, resource intensive, and vulnerable to human error and manipulation, the use of biometric technologies should be considered. This paper discusses several biometric technologies—fingerprint recognition, iris recognition, facial recognition, and hand geometry—and assesses their feasibility for use in access control at transportation facilities and border crossings. The advantages and disadvantages of the technologies are provided, as are cost, accuracy, and other performance data. Potential privacy and data issues are also discussed.

Technology Transfer in the Transit Industry

The unprecedented advances taking place in the technology industries (computer, electronics, telecommunications) can benefit the transit industry by enabling safer, cleaner, and more reliable transit vehicles; easier maintenance; better customer service; and faster and more efficient scheduling and operations. Without an effective technology transfer process, however, the technologies may not reach the proper audience in the transit organization, or they may fail to elicit the appropriate response from transit staff. The two key elements of successful technology transfer in the transit industry are discussed—effective technology transfer infrastructure and technology transfer (T2) agents. Effective technology transfer infrastructure consists of an organizational culture that is open and flexible, a comprehensive evaluation mechanism, an efficient transfer design, and an effective training program. T2 agents are individuals or organizations that bring new technologies and information to agencies, which then can transform the technology and information into useful products, processes, or programs. Also discussed are intra- and interagency barriers, such as strict adherence to rule books and bureaucratic organizational structures, and examples are provided of how some agencies are addressing these problems.