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The signal system on NYC Transit’s “B” Division (with the exception of CBTC on L line) was installed in phases during the Great Depression and currently in the process of modernization and would take a few more years. All signals operated on relay logic and it was impossible...
We were tasked by a major commuter rail operator to analyze ticket sales data to determine ridership with origin-destination and time-of-day detail. The operator had four distinct sales channels: mobile ticketing, paper ticket vending machines, monthly direct-mail ticket subscriptions, and on-board sales by train crew. The mobile ticket...
The New York City metropolitan area was hard hit by COVID-19, and the pandemic brought with it unprecedented challenges for New York City Transit. Previously dependable approaches to monitor ridership suddenly became unavailable (e.g., local bus payment data, field checks). We were tasked to quickly modify existing processes to...
Mr. Glikin led a department of 30 transit professionals scheduling bus service for a large transit system with 20 bus garages. Over time, Mr. Glikin led a successful transformation of the personnel roster from primarily individuals promoted from first level bus operations supervisor roles, with substantial operating experience,...
The installation of an Automated Vehicle Location (AVL) system alongside existing Automated Fare Collection (AFC) data on all New York City buses spurred development of a city-wide bus passenger boarding and alighting ridership model. These advances in ridership modeling allowed for analysis of trip passenger loads and 100%...
Knowledge of the root causes of delays in transit networks has obvious value; it can be used to direct resources toward mitigation efforts and measure the effectiveness of those efforts. However, delays with indirect causes can be difficult to attribute, and may be assigned to broad categories that...
We utilized bus running time data from GPS-based automated vehicle locator systems to identify locations where average bus speeds were the lowest in regular service. The average bus speeds in general on this public transport system were trending downward, but the understanding of the reasons behind the delays...
For a major regional transit authority, we developed a strategic business case for providing separate baseline schedules on Fridays distinct from other weekdays due to significantly different time-of-day and geographical ridership patterns. At that time, regular commuters were trending towards more flexible work scheduling, telecommuting arrangements, and 4½-day...
A large transit agency’s cost of operations per passenger, per hour, and per mile was discerned to be very high. It sought to explore how practices differed from other operators. Understanding how one’s own system performs against similar peer properties is valuable in deciding on changes in transit...
As data collection for public transportation improves and customers’ appetite for information grows, there has been a growing interest in performance measurement systems that better reflect customer experience and quantify the impacts of service while accounting for ridership. A fair amount of research has been dedicated to developing...
One major U.S. transit agency was proposing a significant round of fare restructuring in the face of a structural deficit, and many fare policy options were being considered. Some of these proposed fare structures involved significant increases and expected diversions of current customers between different fare products (e.g....
For a large regional bus company, we performed a series of fare payment system related audits to support a number of management initiatives and special projects. In response to a perception that fare abuse is an issue on certain bus routes, we conducted systemwide measurements to estimate the...
In one of the first production application for extensive analysis of “big” data in a U.S. transit agency, we designed and implemented a user-friendly computer program that automatically detected and corrected inevitable data errors in the daily Automated Fare Collection (AFC) system transaction log files, and devised an...
The NYCT subway punctuality is a key performance measure for the Operational Planning department. The traditional schedule timesheet and manual “punch in” method can’t meet the requirement of quick reaction upon the unexpected train delay. Mr. Reddy and his team developed the real-time Time-Space diagrams to mitigate this...
On behalf of a major U.S. public transit agency, we developed analytical methodologies and performed demographic analysis to determine the impact of proposed service changes on protected customer groups (minority and low-income). At that time, a large package of bus service changes was being considered, including changes in...
We were tasked by a major U.S. rapid transit system to determine the true rate of fare evasion at the turnstile, and assess the resulting potential revenue loss. Working in conjunction with a team of internal auditors, we adopted a stratified sampling methodology and developed methods for discreet...
We were tasked to examine bus lanes in New York City for differences in enforcement needs based on actual bus speed data from GPS-based automated vehicle locator (AVL) systems. In New York, bus lanes are utilized for a number of different purposes, such as hosting right turn traffic,...
Amid significant increases in ridership (9.8% over the past 5 years) on the more than 100 year-old New York City Transit (NYCT) subway system, NYCT has become aware of increased crowding on station platforms. Because of limited platform capacity, platforms become crowded even during minor service disruptions. A...
On behalf of the internal audit group at a large regional transportation agency, we designed a stratified statistical sample for determining the true rate of toll evasion on electronic Radio Frequency Indentification (RFID)-based toll collection systems. The system is owned by a multi-state consortium, thus subject to interagency...
For a large public transit agency, we developed a series of aggregate performance measures using a balanced scorecard framework to support the roll-out of an operations management restructuring program designed to provide a single point of accountability for service on each rail line. The rail lines have shared...
At a major regional railway, we were responsible for developing staffing, organizational structure, and business plans necessary to initiate a companywide Enterprise Geographic Information Systems (GIS) program. We implemented corporate GIS standards, boilerplates, policies, and procedures, and managed the initial bootstrapping phases of the new program, ensuring that...
