Performance Dashboards FAQ
Q: What are the Performance Dashboards?
A: The Performance Dashboards are part of CapMetro's transparency effort to provide quarterly summary activity reported to the board of directors and public in a more efficient manner.
Q: What Performance Metrics are you tracking?
A: We are tracking On-Time Performance or Reliability, Safety
Incidents reported to the National Transit Database (NTD), Financial Revenue
and Expenses, and Ridership.
Q: Where can I get the raw data for each dashboard?
A: All files used to develop the Performance Dashboards can be downloaded from the Texas state government's statistical database.
Q: How often is the data updated?
A: The Performance Dashboards will be updated in the last week of each month.
Q: Why is the data a month behind
A: The Performance Dashboards are updated in the last week of each month with data for the previous month. This next update takes place in the last week of next month. Until then you will see data as was last updated. For e.g. At the end of June, data for May gets updated and available on the dashboards. There are no further updates until the end of July. So throughout July until the end of the month, you will continue to see the most currently updated data for the month of May and no further updates..
Q: Who can I report errors to?
A: If you feel there is an error in any dashboard, please submit your comment to our Customer Service team. Your concerns will be directed to the appropriate department and answered accordingly.
Q: How do you define On-Time Performance?
A: On-time performance is the percentage of trips that operate on time, given the following definitions:
- MetroAccess trips are on time when a customer is picked up any time within the pre-negotiated 30-minute operating window.
- MetroBus, MetroExpress and MetroRail are operated according to a fixed timetable and feature designated time points along the routes. On-time performance is measured as the percentage of actual departure times that are less than six minutes late and not prior to scheduled departure times.
- MetroRapid is operated on a headway-based schedule. A headway is the distance between buses operating on the same route, measured in minutes. On-time performance is measured as a difference of less than five minutes or 50 percent of the headway, whichever is less, than the preceding bus.
Q: What is a Road Call and why is it a reliability measure?
A: A road call occurs when a failure of any component or system causes a bus to be unable to complete its scheduled service without repair. A road call exists whether the vehicle is returned to the shop, a mechanic is sent to the vehicle or the vehicle is towed back to the shop for repair. The miles between road calls metric provides a look into how often customers are affected by a mechanical failure.
Q: How come I don't see UT Shuttles in your list of modes?
A: Currently, we are tracking performance metrics for:
- MetroBus, which includes all Local bus routes, UT Shuttles, E-Bus and Night Owl
- MetroRail, which includes the Red Line (Route 550)
- MetroExpress, which includes all 900 routes
- MetroRapid, which includes Routes 801 and 803
- MetroAccess, which includes all ADA demand-response trips
Q: What criteria were used to provide Safety data?
A: The Safety Performance Dashboard meets the National Transit Database and Federal Railroad Administration reporting requirements:
For bus and paratransit service, reportable events include either planned or unplanned events but do not include occupational safety events occurring in administrative buildings. They do include:
- Fatalities - involving customers (either on board our vehicles or at our facilities), operators, bicyclists, pedestrians and other vehicle occupants.
- Injuries requiring transport away from the scene for medical attention.
- Total property damage greater than $25,000.
- Tow-away of any motor vehicle.
- Smoke, Fire Evacuations for life-safety reasons.
For commuter rail, a reportable event is a train accident that involves one or more trains that have sustained combined track, equipment and/or structural damage in excess of $10,700; rail passenger injuries and illnesses; injuries and/or fatalities to either trespassers or non-trespassers; highway grade crossing accidents.
Q: Why are public transportation agencies required to report accidents and incidents to the NTD
A: Congress established the NTD in 1974 to be the primary source for information and statistics on transit systems in the United States. Statute requires that recipients or beneficiaries of grants from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) submit data to the NTD. Approximately 850 transit providers currently report to the NTD. Each year, NTD performance data is used to apportion more than $5 billion to transit agencies. FTA submits annual NTD reports to Congress summarizing transit service and safety data.
Q: How do you calculate vehicle collision and passenger injury rates for Safety?
| Service | Calculation | |
|---|---|---|
| MetroBus MetroAccess MetroRapid MetroExpress | Number of NTD reportable collisions DIVIDED BY TOTAL NUMBER OF MILES X 100,000 Total Number of Service Miles | = Vehicle Collision Rate |
| MetroRail | Number of FRA reportable collisions DIVIDED BY (6 X 32000) X Total Miles | = Rail Vehicle Collisions |
| MetroBus MetroRapid MetroExpress | Number of NTD reportable passenger injuries DIVIDED BY TOTAL RIDERSHIP X 100,000 Total Ridership for Service | = Passenger Injury Rate |
| MetroAccess MetroRail | Number of NTD reportable passenger injuries DIVIDED BY TOTAL RIDERSHIP X 10,000 Total Ridership for Service | = Passenger Injury Rate |
These formulas are standardized by the FTA. | ||
Q: If you are only reporting NTD incidents, then why does the NTD database differ from your dashboard?
A: For this dashboard, CapMetro decided to report only NTD vehicle collision and passenger injuries. The NTD database includes incidents that are not considered a collision or a passenger injury on a vehicle.
Q: Why doesn't the Route Incident Rate chart display any data when I select MetroAccess from the drop-down menu?
A: MetroAccess is a demand-response service that does not have dedicated routes.
Q: Why does the Safety Dashboard show “NO DATA FOR SELECTION” when I choose a particular route from the drop-down menu?
A: This happens when the route you selected does not have any incidents for the selected period.
Q: What is the definition of Ridership?
A: The NTD statistic measuring ridership is unlinked passenger trips, which equals the number of riders that board public transportation vehicles. Riders are counted each time they board a vehicle, no matter how many vehicles they use to travel from their origin to their destination. Personal care attendants and companions on MetroAccess trips are counted as riders. Riders are counted whether or not they pay a fare.
Q: Where does your data come from?
A: Ridership data comes from either automatic passenger counters (APCs) or manual counts by the operator, depending on the mode or route. Hours-operated data comes from scheduling software.
Q: Why aren't Round Rock routes included in the dashboards?
A: Round Rock is not a member of the CapMetro service area, and our service within the city is provided through a separate agreement between the agency and the city of Round Rock. We decided to display data only from in-service area routes.
Q: What is your fiscal period?
A: CapMetro's fiscal year begins on October 1 and ends on September 30.
Q: What is Other Revenue?
A: Other revenue includes advertising revenue, fees generated at our employee child care and wellness centers, interest income, lease income and other smaller revenue sources.
Q: What does FY and YTD stand for?
A: FY stands for fiscal year and YTD stands for year to date.
Q: What is the difference between operating expenses and capital expenses?
A: Operating expenses fund the day-to-day operation of CapMetro, such as staff salaries or fuel for vehicle, for example. In contrast, capital expenses fund facility improvement projects, infrastructure projects and major equipment purchases.
Q: What is the difference between Operating and Non-Operating Revenue?
A: Operating revenue is comprised of fare revenue, freight railroad revenue and other revenue resulting from the agency's core business. Non-operating revenue includes sales tax receipts, operating or capital grants, investment and other income.
Q: Is the data the same as in the monthly financial reports?
A: Yes, the data presented here agrees with monthly financial reports.
Q: What period does the Sales Tax represent?
A: Sales tax receipts are provided monthly by the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts.