Planning, Policy & Management (PPM)

Our planners and policy analysts help transportation agencies identify and evaluate options to improve service delivery and service design, and identify infrastructure schemes and policy actions to generate desired results. We forecast the consequences and generate contingencies of various options – with sufficient but not overwhelming detail. Working with our analytics practice, we provide the quantitative and scientific data that underpins the assumptions driving planning and policy choices.

Our analysis of infrastructure investments and alternative pricing scenarios helps transportation managers implement plans that mitigate risks and take advantage of funding opportunities. Our operations/maintenance planning specialists translate your service vision into concrete implementable operating plans that allow your managers to enhance services and maximize operational efficiency.

Public transit systems require planning in seven different areas:

1. Policy planning, to understand and address interconnected issues (e.g. fares, modal balance, connectivity, and parking) that work across different modes and in a integrated manner to achieve desired outcomes
2. Strategic planning, to decide on a vision, the major markets to pursue, track demographic and land-use changes, and evaluate the resulting options and funding requirements
3. Major Projects planning, to translate a locally identified service need into a set of implementable project plans while addressing environmental regulations and processes required by funding authorities
4. Investment programming, to balance meeting passenger demand, service, expansion, state of good repair, productivity-based cost reduction, and resource availability
5. Operations planning, to determine which services to operate and how to do so efficiently, and develop key performance indicators that provide stakeholder feedback
6. Maintenance planning, to balance work windows with service, and ensure resources are available to maintain business operations
7. Production planning, to maximize utilization of limited plant capacity and people resources

Using mathematically rigorous analytical methods, we can forecast the consequences of today’s decisions well into the future. Not everything is knowable, but our scenario analyses and built-in contingencies ensure that your plans are robust in an uncertain world. Whether the results you seek are focused on economic, financial, performance, or operational factors, we will craft a set of transparent, functional plans.

• We provide sufficiently detailed service, operating, and maintenance plans that support your proposals within a defined set of resources and requirements, while retaining sufficient flexibility to negotiate or react to unforeseen circumstances.
• We help you visualize and communicate a vision. We build scenarios that are realistic, feasible, and illustrative. We provide buildable and fundable project plans with realistic cost estimates and accurate impact assessments.
• We craft strategies and identify policy options that help you work toward and attain your long-range goals even in an uncertain environment.

Our plans help you think through your future—whether on an operational, programmatic, or strategic timescale, whether your issues are policy-driven, project-oriented, or concerning service delivery performance.

Technology permeates public transportation today. Many current planning scenarios revolve around transitioning from older to newer technologies, or deploying paradigm-changing technologies such as communication-based train control, vehicle on-board diagnostics, and internet-enabled customer-facing technologies. Our planners and managers have hands-on experience of how new technologies can affect and benefit your day-to-day operations and can help guide you as you embrace the next generation—whatever that means for your team, your customers, and your future.