Massive Simulation in Performance Metrics to Capture Passenger Experience

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 and refining these kinds of metrics, with a particular focus on comparing customers expected and actual waiting time on train platforms or at bus stops. Despite this, only a limited number of transit agencies have implemented such measures. We developed a set of metrics that calculates the additional time customers spend waiting for and riding buses or trains in excess of the schedule, termed additional bus stop/platform time (ABST/APT) and additional travel time (ATT) respectively. Trip time performance, termed customer journey time performance (CJTP), is also computed.  The methodology leverages an existing origin–destination (OD) ridership model and bus or train location data to calculate these values for each individual passenger.  Measuring at the passenger level means that impacts of service delays or changes can be weighted by the number of passengers affected, unlike past vehicle-level measures.  This enables the design of service management techniques that benefit the most riders possible. The form of the metrics, which puts service impacts in easy-to-understand terms that reflect actual customer experience, likewise provides the opportunity to better engage with customers.  The agency sponsoring this work is among the first to make these metrics regularly available to the public, and the first to publicly report them for buses.

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