Background
Transit Asset Management (TAM)- State of Good Repair Targets
Transit Provider Requirement: Each transit agency developing a Transit Asset Management (TAM) Plan must report State of Good Repair (SGR) for each fiscal year and are required to report annually to FTA’s National Transit Database (NTD). As described in the NTD Policy Manual, submission must include: asset inventory data; condition assessments and performance results; projected targets for the next fiscal year; and a narrative report on changes in transit system conditions and the progress toward achieving previous performance targets. The SGR targets should be shared with SEMCOG annually.
SEMCOG Requirement: As the MPO for Southeast Michigan, SEMCOG must establish TAM targets specific to the MPO planning area for the same performance measures for all public transit providers in the MPO planning area within 180 days of when the transit provider(s) establish their targets. SEMCOG will update the regional targets every four years and monitor the regional targets annually, making updates as needed.
Transit Safety Targets
Transit Provider Requirement: As required by the FTA, all public transportation providers are required to establish safety performance targets to address the safety performance measures identified in their Public Transit Agency Safety Plans (PTASP). Transit Agency Safety Plans must include performance targets based on the safety performance measures and sets targets for each mode that represent its goals for the upcoming National Transit Database (NTD) reporting year. .
SEMCOG Requirement: Each transit provider is required to review and update its Agency Safety Plan annually, including the safety performance targets, as necessary. The MPO is not required to set new transit safety targets each year but can choose to revisit the MPO’s safety performance targets based on the schedule for preparation of its system performance report that is part of the Regional Transportation Plan (RTP).
Methodology
Transit Asset Management (TAM)- State of Good Repair Targets
As required by the FTA, transit agencies must develop a Transit Asset Management (TAM) plan if it owns, operates, or manages capital assets. The transit asset management rule identifies areas for transit providers to track asset conditions and create plans for systemically managing operations, maintenance, and capital investments. The performance targets are based on the following asset types:
- Rolling Stock – Revenue vehicles used in providing public transportation, e.g., buses.
- Equipment – Articles of non-expendable, tangible property that have a useful life of at least one year, e.g., non-revenue vehicles and maintenance equipment.
- Facilities – Buildings or structures that are used in providing public transportation, including administrative, maintenance, passenger, and parking facilities.
- Infrastructure – Track segments (by rail mode) applying to rail fixed guideway systems.
The FTA default Useful Life Benchmarks (ULB) was used in conjunction with the asset inventory data submitted to SEMCOG by each of the transit providers. The data from the transit agency on each of the four categories of capital assets (revenue vehicles, equipment, facilities, and infrastructure) was used to approximate the State of Good Repair (SGR). For each asset category, the performance measure is a characterization of the percentage of the total number of assets that are at or past their ULB based on the targets that have been set. The target setting process for the SEMCOG region involved taking the total number of targeted assets and dividing by the total number of assets in each respective category.
Transit Safety Targets
Due to the variation in methodologies used by individual transit agencies for creating their targets, SEMCOG established a methodology at the regional level, to account for the nuances in the variety of modes and services provided by each agency. The performance targets are based on the following four (4) safety categories:
- Fatalities: total number (major and non-major) of reportable fatalities and rate per total vehicle revenue miles (VRM) by mode
- Injuries: total number (major and non-major) of reportable injuries and rate per total VRM by mode
- Safety Events: total number (major and non-major) of reportable events and rate per total VRM by mode
- System Reliability: mean distance between major (major only) mechanical failures (MDBF) by mode
NTD Data was used to identify the baseline using 5-year average data (2018-2022) for Commuter Bus, Demand Response, Monorail/Guideway, Motor Bus, Streetcar Rail, and Van Pool. The total annual average VRM per mode was used to determine the rate parameters. Targets for modes with VRM >1,000,000 used a rate of 100,000 VRM. Targets for modes with VRM <1,000,000 used a rate of 10,000 VRM.
To set the targets, a number and rate reduction was applied to the baseline. The number of fatalities, injuries, safety events, and system failures were reduced by 10 percent, based on goals from the Southeast Michigan Traffic Safety Plan. The numbers were then rounded down to the nearest multiple of five for fatalities, injuries, and safety events. The mean distance between major mechanical failures (MDBF), which were in thousands for all modes, was rounded up to nearest multiple of 50.
Transit Asset Management (TAM) Targets
On February 23, 2024 SEMCOGs Executive Committee approved the regional transit asset targets.
| Asset Category | Performance Measures | 2024 Regional Target |
|---|---|---|
| Rolling Stock e.g., buses | Age: Percentage of revenue vehicles that have met or exceeded their Useful Life Benchmark (ULB) | 25% |
| Equipment e.g., non-revenue vehicles and maintenance equipment | Age: Percentage of equipment that has met or exceeded their Useful Life Benchmark (ULB) | 50% |
| Facilities e.g., administrative buildings and bus shelters | Condition: Percentage of facilities with a condition rating adequate or below on the FTA Transit Economic Requirements Model Scale | 3% |
| Infrastructure e.g., fixed guideway | The percentage of track segments (by mode) that have performance restrictions. Track segments are measured to the nearest 0.01 of a mile. | 0% |
The targets in this performance measure are expressed as a percentage of the rolling stock, equipment, facilities, or infrastructure that have met or exceeded their useful life. The transit agency has identified these assets as needing refurbishing or replacement. The SEMCOG transit asset management targets for 2024 were established in coordination with MDOT, regional transit providers, the RTA, and the FTA. SEMCOG will continue coordination with the RTA, State, federal, and local road agencies to plan and implement projects that contribute to meeting the targets.
Transit Safety Targets
On February 23, 2024 SEMCOGs Executive Committee approved the regional transit safety targets.
| Mode | Fatalities | Injuries | Safety Events | Reliability | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | Rate | Number | Rate | Number | Rate | MDBF | |
| Commuter Bus | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | 390,950 |
| Demand Response | 0 | – | 15 | 0.17 | 25 | 0.29 | 51,850 |
| Monorail/Guideway | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | 6,000 |
| Motor Bus | 0 | – | 210 | 0.88 | 165 | 0.69 | 8,700 |
| Streetcar Rail | 0 | – | 0 | – | 5 | 0.43 | 4,700 |
| Vanpool (VP) | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | 1,408,100 |
The performance targets are based on the following four (4) safety categories: Fatalities: total number (major and non-major) of reportable fatalities and rate per total vehicle revenue miles (VRM) by mode. Injuries: total number (major and non-major) of reportable injuries and rate per total VRM by mode. Safety Events: total number (major and non-major) of reportable events and rate per total VRM by mode. System Reliability: mean distance between major (major only) mechanical failures (MDBF) by mode.