Integrating Travel Time Reliability into Transportation System Management: Final Technical Memorandum

Chapter 3. System-Level goals and Objectives for Operations and Reliability

Following the desk scan, the project team scanned planning documents to inventory system-level goals and objectives for operations and travel time reliability. The purpose of this task was to build representative samples of system-level goals and objectives at both the State and metropolitan scales. The section summarizes the inventoried goals and objectives and describes the representative goals and objectives.

Environmental Scan

The environmental scan of system-level goals and objectives for operations and reliability covered plans and reports from more than 40 locations in the United States. The project team focused primarily on State department of transportation (DOT) and metropolitan planning organization (MPO) long-range transportation plans, operations-focused strategic and programmatic plans, congestion management process documents, corridor studies, and system performance reports. Many of the planning documents contained goals and objectives that focused on travel time reliability and operational performance. Below are some of the examples found during the scan, organized by type of planning document.

Transportation Systems Management and Operations/Intelligent Transportation Systems Strategic and Program Plans

The Iowa DOT Transportation Systems Management and Operations (TSMO) Program Plan⁴⁵ has several high-level goals: safety, reliability, efficiency, convenience, coordination, and integration. The program plan also has a hierarchy of system-level objectives and program-level objectives. Examples of system-level objectives are improving travel time reliability and increasing the resilience of the transportation system to floods, winter weather, and other extreme weather events. An example of a program-level objective is to respond to and clear traffic incidents as quickly as possible. This was the only example of a plan in the scan that created a hierarchical relationship between system-level objectives and program-level objectives.

The Caltrans Traffic Operations Strategic Plan⁴⁶ integrates reliability into goals; for example, using leadership, collaboration, and strategic partnerships to develop an integrated transportation system that provides reliable and accessible mobility for travelers. Additionally, the goal of the plan is to increase accessibility to all modes of transportation and improve travel time reliability for all modes.

One of the Maryland DOT TSMO Plan⁴⁷ goals is to improve travel time reliability for both people and freight. Several of its objectives include implementing a comprehensive, system-level performance measurement program to monitor mobility and reliability targets by June 2017 and including reliability in existing traffic analyses and travel forecasting and modeling tools. The Maryland DOT also includes a reliability goal in its 2016 Annual Attainment Report: the agency will seek to maintain or improve travel reliability for key transportation corridors and services.

The goals from the South Dakota DOT Transportation Systems Management and Operations Program Plan⁴⁸ include implementing TSMO in order to optimize system operation, improve safety, and manage system reliability. Other goals include developing and implementing a methodology that incorporates travel time reliability to evaluate the effectiveness of winter operations.

One of the New York City DOT 2016 ITS Strategic Plan⁴⁹ goals is having a reliable, safe, sustainable, and accessible transportation network that meets the needs of all New Yorkers and supports the city's growing economy. Several of its objectives are to increase overall rail transit capacity into the Manhattan Central Business District by 20 percent between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. by 2040, and to double the number of bicyclists, tracked by the NYC In-Season Cycling Indicator, by 2020.

Statewide Long-Range Transportation Plans, Programs, and Performance Reports

Several of the key objectives of the Pennsylvania DOT Long-Range Transportation Plan⁵⁰ include providing infrastructure and technology advancements to eliminate bottlenecks and improve system efficiency and trip predictability.

The Colorado DOT Strategic Actions for the Statewide Transportation Plan⁵¹ lists several of the more traditional goals including safety, mobility, economic vitality, and maintaining the system.

The Arizona DOT What Moves You Arizona Long-Range Transportation Plan 2010 – 2035⁵² includes goals to improve mobility and accessibility, preserve and maintain the system, support economic growth, and enhance safety and security. Its objectives include optimizing mobility and reliability in the transportation of passengers and freight and developing and operating a State transportation system that provides for the reliable movement of people and freight throughout the State.

One of the goals stated within the Florida DOT Long-Range Program Plan for Fiscal Years 2018-2019 through 2022-2023⁵³ is to provide efficient and reliable mobility for people and freight. The Florida DOT 2017 Strategic Plan has several mobility goals, one of which is to improve travel time reliability.

The Moving Michigan Forward 2040 State Long-Range Transportation Plan⁵⁴ has as a stated goal to continue to improve transportation safety and ensure the security of the transportation system. The plan also mentions addressing system bottlenecks, improving travel time reliability and predictability for passengers and freight, and enhancing the transportation experience through better, timelier travel information.

The Illinois State Transportation Plan: Transforming Transportation for Tomorrow⁵⁵ mentions several reliability goals, including maintaining the performance of the Illinois transportation system to provide a high level of reliability to ensure the efficiency and on-time performance of transportation services. The State will also explore the use of new technologies to improve transportation operations, traveler convenience, and system reliability. Some of the DOT's objectives include identifying, measuring, and monitoring system bottlenecks, constraints, and deficiencies.

The Oregon DOT's State of the System⁵⁶ report indicates that the agency's goal is to promote transportation choices that are reliable, accessible, and cost-effective.

The Missouri DOT Tracker: Measures of Departmental Performance⁵⁷ cited a goal of operating a reliable and convenient transportation system.

Metropolitan Transportation Plans

The Maricopa Association of Governments' 2040 Regional Transportation Plan⁵⁸ contains many of the big picture, high-level goals seen in other plans, including a goal for reliability: maintaining a reasonable and reliable travel time for moving freight into, through, and within the region.

The Southern California Association of Governments Regional Transportation Plan 2012 – 2025⁵⁹ has several key goals, including increasing and maximizing mobility and accessibility for the region's residents and visitors, improving regional economic development and competitiveness, and ensuring travel safety and reliability for all people and goods in the region.

The Puget Sound Regional Council's Draft Regional Transportation Plan 2018⁶⁰ has several goals, among which are to improve travel time and reliability, to increase access to jobs, to provide transportation choices, to maintain and preserve the transportation system, and to create a safe and secure transportation system.

The Metropolitan Washington Council of Government's Congestion Management Process⁶¹ states a set of goals that includes ensuring adequate system maintenance, preservation, and safety and maximizing the operational effectiveness and safety of the transportation system. To assess its progress, the council is measuring the percentage of the interstate system providing for reliable travel and the percentage of the non-interstate National Highway System (NHS) providing for reliable travel.

The Atlanta Region's Plan 2040 Regional Transportation Plan (RTP)⁶² also has reliability performance measures that track the percentage of person-miles traveled on Interstates that are reliable, the percentage of person miles traveled on non-interstate NHS that are reliable, and a truck travel time reliability index.⁶³

The Birmingham 2040 Regional Transportation Plan⁶⁴ produced by the Regional Planning Commission of Greater Birmingham (Alabama) includes several goals pertaining to developing a sustainable regional transportation system and advancing regional transportation system policies and investments to support economic growth and global competitiveness. A related performance measure is the use of a travel time reliability index.

The Community Planning Association (COMPASS) of Southwest Idaho's Communities in Motion 2040⁶⁵ plan contains goals for enhancing the transportation system to improve accessibility and connectivity to jobs, schools, and services and ensuring the reliability of travel by all modes.

Similarly, the Pikes Peak Area Council of Government's Moving Forward 2040⁶⁶ plan goals include improving the operation of transportation systems and services to enhance emergency response, minimizing travel times and maximizing service quality for all modes of commercial and private travel throughout the region, improving system connectivity within and between modes and accessibility for everyone, and increasing resiliency and redundancy of the transportation system.

Corridor Plans and Concepts of Operations

Objectives of the Caltrans Interstate 80 and Capital City Freeway Corridor System Management Plan⁶⁷ include reduced travel time or delay; improved connectivity, travel time reliability, and safety; expanded mobility options; and increased access.

The Concept of Operations for the US-75 Integrated Corridor⁶⁸) in Dallas, Texas, has similar goals, such as increasing corridor throughput and improving travel time reliability. Some of its objectives are to reduce overall trip and person travel time through the corridor; improve travel predictability; maximize the efficient use of any spare corridor capacity, such that delays on other saturated networks may be reduced; and improve commercial vehicle operations through and around the corridor.

Representative Goals and Objectives

This section provides two sets of system-level goals and objectives that the study team developed based on examples found during the environmental scan. One set is for a State-level transportation system and the second set is for a metropolitan region typically associated with the planning area of an MPO.

The goals and objectives were developed in a hierarchy (see figure 7). At the top level, the "1^st order goal" represents the ultimate purpose of the system. Below that, are the "2^nd order goals," which describe what the system should accomplish in service of the system purpose. The last level is the "3^rd order goals," which describe what system managers should accomplish to achieve the 2^nd order goals. The system-level objectives then identify specific performance targets that support achieving the 3^rd order goals.

Goals and Objectives for a State Transportation System

Below is the set of goals and objectives for a generic State transportation system.

1^st Order Goal for State-level System:

• Connect people and goods across all modes to desired destinations within the State or across State (or national) borders.

2^nd Order Goals for State-level System:

• Support the economic vitality of the State by helping people and goods to access markets efficiently within the State and across State borders.
• Provide for the movement of emergency management personnel, supplies, and populations (evacuations) throughout the State and across the State borders to avoid or limit loss of lives, injuries, and property damage during natural or man-made emergencies.
• Provide for social welfare and livability, including access to jobs, healthcare, recreation, and education.
• Provide for the security of the State and Nation by allowing the movement of military personnel and equipment to destinations required for defense.

3^rd Order State-level System Goals:

• Manage risk on the system to provide safety, reliable trip times, and system resilience.
• Manage system resources toward efficient system performance.
• Provide a system that is flexible and provides equitable options for travel.

System-level Objectives:

Safety

Reduce the 5-year rolling averages on all highways and primary arterials within the State for each measure below by X percent within Y years:

• Number of fatalities.
• Rate of fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled (VMT).
• Number of serious injuries.
• Rate of serious injuries per 100 million VMT.
• Number of non-motorized fatalities and non-motorized serious injuries.

Reliability

• Increase the percentage of person-miles traveled on all Interstates within the State that are reliable by X percent within Y years where a reliable road segment is defined as having a level of travel time reliability Z. (Level of travel time reliability is defined as the ratio of the 80^th percentile to the 50th percentile using the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) National Performance Management Research Data Set (NPMRDS) or equivalent.)
• Increase the percentage of person-miles traveled on all non-Interstates within the State that are reliable by X percent within Y years where a reliable road segment is defined as having level of travel time reliability Z.
• Reduce the truck travel time reliability (TTTR) index on all highways and primary arterials in the State by X points within Y years.
• Reduce the average buffer time needed to arrive on-time for 95 percent of trips (all modes) on [specified routes] by X minutes over Y years.

Efficiency

• Reduce by X percent within Y years the annual hours of peak hour excessive delay per capita where excessive delay is defined as travel on the National Highway System (NHS) within the State at 20 miles per hour or 60 percent of the posted speed limit (whichever is greater).
• Reduce hours of delay (all modes) per capita by X percent by year Y.

Options

• Increase the percentage of trips where there is at least one non-single occupancy vehicle (SOV) modal option that is within 25 percent of the travel time and cost of the SOV trip.

Goals and Objectives for a Regional Transportation System

Below is a set of goals and objectives for a generic regional transportation system.

1^st Order Regional System-level Goal:

• Connect people and goods across all modes to desired destinations within the region.

2^nd Order Regional System-level Goals:

• Support the economic vitality of the region by helping people and goods to access markets and employment efficiently within the region.
• Provide for the movement of emergency management personnel, supplies, and populations (evacuations) throughout the region to avoid or limit loss of lives, injuries, and property damage during natural or man-made emergencies.
• Provide for social welfare and equity including access to jobs, healthcare, recreation, and education.
• Provide for a healthy environment by promoting environmental sustainability and fostering efficient development patterns.

3^rd Order Regional System-level Goals:

• Manage risk on the system to provide safety, reliable trip times, and system resilience.
• Manage system resources toward efficient system performance and environmental sustainability.
• Provide a system that is flexible and provides equitable options for travel.

Regional System-level Objectives:

Safety

Reduce the 5-year rolling averages on all highways, primary arterials, and secondary roads within the region for each measure below by X percent within Y years.

• Number of fatalities.
• Rate of fatalities per 100 million VMT.
• Number of serious injuries.
• Rate of serious injuries per 100 million VMT.
• Number of non-motorized fatalities and non-motorized serious injuries.

Reliability

• Increase the percentage of person-miles traveled on all interstates within the region that are reliable by X percent within Y years where a reliable road segment is defined as having a level of travel time reliability Z. (Level of travel time reliability is defined as the ratio of the 80^th percentile to the 50^th percentile using the FHWA's NPMRDS or equivalent.)
• Increase the percentage of person-miles traveled on all non-interstates within the region that are reliable by X percent within Y years where a reliable road segment is defined as having level of travel time reliability Z.
• Reduce the TTTR index on all highways and primary arterials in the region by X points within Y years.
• Reduce the average buffer time needed to arrive on-time for 95 percent of trips (all modes) on [specified routes] by X minutes over Y years.

Efficiency

• Reduce by X percent within Y years the annual hours of peak hour excessive delay per capita where excessive delay is defined as travel on the NHS within the State at 20 miles per hour or 60 percent of the posted speed limit (whichever is greater).
• Reduce hours of delay (all modes) per capita by X percent by year Y.

Sustainability

• Reduce smog-forming pollutants for all vehicle types (daily pounds per capita) by X percent within Y years.⁶⁹

Options

• Increase the percentage of trips where there is at least one non-SOV modal option that is within 25 percent of the travel time and cost of the SOV trip.
• Increase the percentage of homes within one-half mile of a transit stop by X percent within Y years.⁷⁰