Benchmarking projects need a jump start
Several organizations throughout the world are engaged in benchmarking public transport services.
Several organizations throughout the world are engaged in benchmarking public transport services. Unfortunately, they have not fulfilled their promise largely because the leadership needed to sustain the projects has fizzled. Let me first define benchmarking. Put simply, it is observing what similar organizations do and coming up with statistical ways to compare them. The data-oriented measures are typically, but not always, financial. Public transport officials came up with a variety of benchmarks. For buses they include: mean distance between roadcalls as a reliability measure, number of service hours per bus or passengers per service as examples of productivity measures. For rail properties, mean distance between failures, passengers per employee and passengers per hour per direction are a few benchmarks used. For both modes, cost per passenger and farebox recovery ratios (the percentage of service cost paid for by fare income) are also used frequently. Some even look at modal splits on particular corridors of certain population densities. No dearth of benchmarks As you can see, there are all kinds of measures public transport organizations can use to develop comparisons. Similarly, there are a variety of benchmarking projects already underway or completed on a small scale. For example, several Transit Cooperative Research Project studies discuss benchmarking in various quality improvement projects. There was also a benchmarking project done by the Texas Transportation Institute and the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Volpe Center in Cambridge, Mass., on staff training. Two others are worthy of mention. The International Public Transport Union (UITP) is involved with the European Commission’s transport department (DG VII) on customer-oriented benchmarks to develop quality systems measures to help governments with policies on competitive contracting and subsidy levels. You can monitor the progress of this initiative by going to the UITP’s Website www.uitp.com. Meanwhile, the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corp., a multimodal system in Hong Kong, has been soliciting agencies around the world for years for a global urban passenger rail benchmarking initiative it is trying to develop. The problem with those wonderful initiatives is they have faced tough sledding when it comes to wide-scale adoption and participation. I suspect that it boils down to two reasons. First, many people correctly point out that trying to come up with such benchmarks, especially performance-oriented outcomes, too often results in comparing apples to oranges. Operating conditions vary widely, depending on national laws and customs, city vs. rural locations, size of the city, population densities and on and on. Is benchmarking too scary? There is also a second, perhaps bigger problem: Benchmarking is scary. By developing comparisons, particularly averages, some people will inherently have to explain why their organizations fall below the norms. Better to let the enthusiasm for benchmarking wane, and it will go away. Ultimately, such an attitude is a recipe for stagnation and losing relevance as a solution to urban congestion, pollution, socioeconomic opportunity and all the other worthy higher goals of public transport. Benchmarking must be taken seriously and championed. Meaningful standards must be developed. Better to do so rather than have outsiders do it for us, inaccurately and poorly. Which, sooner or later, will lead to more than a lost opportunity for real, quality improvements. It could lead to our industry’s downfall. And that’s the ultimate scary scenario.
More Management

VIA's Silver Line Clears Environmental Review, Advances Toward Construction
The VIA Rapid Green Line is currently under construction, with service expected to begin in April 2028.
Read More →
Modernizing Mobility with CharterUP CEO Armir Harris
From digital transformation to evolving customer demands, CharterUP's Armir Harris offers his perspective on the transportation industry's next chapter.
Read More →
CTTC Enhances Transit Workforce Pipeline Through New Partnerships and Leadership
The group's latest initiatives focus on developing talent, expanding training opportunities and addressing workforce needs across the transit sector.
Read More →
San Diego MTS Keeps Service Intact With New FY 2027 Budget
The approved spending plan avoids route cuts and lays the groundwork for addressing transit funding challenges through the end of the decade.
Read More →
Solving The Driver Shortage: What Transit Agencies Can Learn From the Trucking Industry
See how transit agencies facing persistent driver shortages can learn from the trucking industry’s evolving strategies for recruitment, retention, workplace conditions, and more.
Read More →
FIFA World Cup Matches Are Driving Record Transit Ridership Nationwide
See how World Cup matches are generating record transit demand across North America, with ridership surpassing Super Bowls, concerts, and Olympic-era events.
Read More →
The Hidden Cost of Fuel Data Inaccuracy in Public Transit Fleets
In today's transit environment, accurate fuel and mileage data are critical to reducing costs, minimizing downtime, and improving fleet performance.
Read More →
Virginia's $28.5B Transportation Plan Targets Transit and Rail
Approved by the Commonwealth Transportation Board, the program supports ongoing infrastructure projects while providing new investments in transit, state of good repair and transportation alternatives.
Read More →
Latinos In Transit Seeks Host Organization for 2027 Leadership Summit
The selected host organization will showcase its transit system, projects, and community while welcoming hundreds of industry leaders and emerging professionals during Hispanic Heritage Month.
Read More →
Bipartisan BUSES Act Seeks Changes to New York City's Bus Idling Enforcement Program
Backed by motorcoach operators, the legislation seeks to balance emissions goals with passenger safety by allowing limited idling for inspections, accessibility needs and extreme weather conditions.
Read More →